Article Photos: Higher gas costs push US consumer spending up



  FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 file photo, a shopper pushes a trolley through the clearance section of a store in Chicago. Americans spent at the fastest pace in six months in August but much of that increase went to pay their higher gas bills, the Commerce Department announced Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 file photo, a shopper pushes a trolley through the clearance section of a store in Chicago. Americans spent at the fastest pace in six months in August but much of that increase went to pay their higher gas bills, the Commerce Department announced Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong, File)