Retail sales posted a surprising increase in February as consumers did not let major snowstorms stop them from racking up purchases. The advance, the biggest since November, provided hope that the recovery from the great recession is gaining momentum.
However, some economists cautioned that spending increases will remain modest as long as wages stay flat and job creation weak. They also noted that the government revised down the increase in retail sales for January.
For February, sales rose 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said Friday. That surpassed expectations that sales would decline 0.2 percent.
The overall gain was held back by a 2 percent decline in auto sales, reflecting, in part, the recall problems at Toyota. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.8 percent. That was far better than the 0.1 percent increase, excluding autos, that economists had forecast.
The February sales gain followed a scant rise in January and a slight decline for December. The increase for January was revised down from 0.5 percent to 0.1 percent.
Some analysts had suspected the February retail sales report could offer a positive surprise because of encouraging news last week from the nation's big retail chains. The International Council of Shopping Centers had reported that sales jumped 3.7 percent in February compared with a year ago, marking the third straight increase.
Shoppers shrugged off snowstorms to visit a broad array of merchants - from luxury retailer Nordstrom Inc. to middlebrow Macy's Inc. to discounter Target Corp. All three chains reported solid sales increases that beat analysts' expectations.
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