The
Commerce Department reported on Friday the sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.7
percent m-o-m in September, following a revised 0.9 percent m-o-m gain in August
(originally a 0.7 percent m-o-m increase).
Economists
had expected total sales would decline 0.2 percent m-o-m in September.
According
to the report, the August increase in retail sales was led by higher sales at sporting
goods, music and book stores (+3.7 percent m-o-m), general merchandise stores (+2.0
percent m-o-m), miscellaneous retailers (+1.8 percent m-o-m) and gasoline
stations (+1.8 percent m-o-m).
Excluding
auto, retail sales went up 0.8 percent m-o-m in September after a revised 2.0
percent m-o-m jump in the previous month (originally a 1.8 percent m-o-m climb),
being better than economists’ forecast of a 0.5 percent m-o-m advance.
Meanwhile,
closely watched core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline,
building materials and food services, and are used in GDP calculations, rose
0.8 percent m-o-m in September after a revised 2.6 percent m-o-m surge in August
(originally a 2.5 percent m-o-m jump).
In
y-o-y terms, the U.S. retail sales soared 13.9 percent in September after a
revised 15.4 percent jump in the previous month (originally a 15.1 percent climb). This
was the smallest gain since February.