Retails Sales See a Boost in November
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The fragile recovery received a boost from the consumer as better-than-expected retail sales figures for November were released on Friday.
The report of growth in the consumer sector came as a bit of a surprise as the previously reported weak start to the holiday season was thought to be a poor sign.
Retail sales rose 1.3 percent last month; improving on the 1.1 percent increase for the month prior said the Commerce Department. The jump was more than double of the 0.6 percent that was expected by economists.
Excluding auto sales, the retail sales rose 1.2 percent; triple the 0.4 percent that was forecasted by economists.
Some big winners in November included service stations, which rose 6 percent, and mail order and internet purchases jumped 1.2 percent, helped by strong online discounts over the "Black Friday" weekend and "Cyber Monday."
Restaurants and bars, and health and personal care saw marginal gains, up 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.
Sales also jumped at electronic stores by 2.8 percent, and by 1.5 percent at hardware stores.
Today's news comes as retail stores, such as Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) and Target (NYSE: TGT) all showed worse-than-expected monthly declines in November.
The 1.1 percent increase in retail sales in October was revised down from the previously reported 1.4 percent.
The report of growth in the consumer sector came as a bit of a surprise as the previously reported weak start to the holiday season was thought to be a poor sign.
Retail sales rose 1.3 percent last month; improving on the 1.1 percent increase for the month prior said the Commerce Department. The jump was more than double of the 0.6 percent that was expected by economists.
Excluding auto sales, the retail sales rose 1.2 percent; triple the 0.4 percent that was forecasted by economists.
Some big winners in November included service stations, which rose 6 percent, and mail order and internet purchases jumped 1.2 percent, helped by strong online discounts over the "Black Friday" weekend and "Cyber Monday."
Restaurants and bars, and health and personal care saw marginal gains, up 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.
Sales also jumped at electronic stores by 2.8 percent, and by 1.5 percent at hardware stores.
Today's news comes as retail stores, such as Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) and Target (NYSE: TGT) all showed worse-than-expected monthly declines in November.
The 1.1 percent increase in retail sales in October was revised down from the previously reported 1.4 percent.
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