U.S. consumer spending picking up, gasoline prices a threat

U.S. retail sales increased marginally in April as rising gasoline prices cut into discretionary spending, but consumer spending appeared on track to accelerate after slowing sharply in the first quarter."A better pace of real consumer spending growth is taking hold in the second quarter," said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco.The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month after surging 0.8 percent in March.