Reply #14: Retail sales fall 1.3% in Feb. Biggest drop in six months

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B4C386ABC%2D9D22%2D42A6%2DAAD0%2D56A1AD20721C%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. retail sales fell 1.3% in February, the biggest decline in six months, dragged down by weak auto sales, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday.

Excluding autos, retail sales decreased 0.4%, the biggest drop since April 2004.
Excluding both autos and gas, retail sales decreased 0.3%. There were steep declines in furniture and clothing stores and lesser drops in gasoline and restaurants.

Economists were not expecting such a large decline in retail sales. The average forecast in a MarketWatch survey called for a 0.8% decline. Excluding autos, sales were expected to fall 0.4%. See Economic Calendar.

Sales cooled off in February compared with the previous month.

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Furniture-store sales decreased 4.0%, the sharpest drop since Feb. 2003.

Electronics-store sales fell 2.0%, also the biggest decline since Feb. 2003.

Gasoline station sales fell 1.6%, while clothing store sales fell 3.3%. Sales at general-merchandise stores fell 0.3%. Department store sales fell 1.4%.

Restaurant sales fell 1.9%, the biggest drop since 9/11.

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