Credit, Economy and Financial News from TruckingFactor.com

Retail Sales Climb 1% in January

Providing a ray of hope to a recession-weary industry, The Commerce Department noted that retail sales jumped 1% in January, as post-holiday discounts attracted budget-conscious shoppers and higher gasoline prices pumped up sales at gas stations. The gain, following a downwardly revised 3% decline in December sales, stumped economists who were expecting another sales decrease. January's increase was the biggest since November 2007 and followed six consecutive months of declines. Gasoline sales grew 2.6%, after a 15.6% drop in December, while sales of autos and parts grew 1.6%. Sales grew 1.6% at apparel chains, and climbed 1.1% at general merchandise chains. Sales edged down 0.3% at department stores and were down 3.2% at building materials units. Sales at non-store retailers, such as Internet and mail-order shopping, advanced 2.7%, while sales of food and beverages rose 2.1%. Health and personal care stores posted flat sales. Despite the leap last month, retail sales were down 9.7% from January 2008, an indication of how dramatically the recession has hurt retailers.

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Date Last Updated: 02/20/2009