November Retail Sales Up 1%

Washington, DC, December 13, 2006–Retail sales increased by 1% in November, the largest gain since July, according to a Commerce Department report.

Excluding the 0.9% gain in motor vehicle sales, retail sales rose 1.1%, the largest gain since January.

The broad-based increase in sales was much stronger than the 0.2% gain expected by economists, who expected sales excluding autos to rise 0.3%.

Chain stores and auto makers had reported weak sales in November than were not reflected in the government’s data.

Sales in October were revised higher by three-tenths to a 0.1% decline.

Auto sales rose 0.9%. Gasoline sales rose 2.3%. Appliance and electronics sales increased 4.6%