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Retail sales in February were soft at the headline level but surprisingly strong at the core level. Overall retail sales fell back 0.1 percent in February, after a 1.8 percent rebound in January. The consensus had expected a 0.5 percent decline. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales increased 0.7 percent, after a 1.6 percent gain in January. The ex-auto increase was much better than the market projection for a 0.2 percent slip. While gasoline sales were up sharply, this was not the only factor behind better sales. Excluding motor vehicles and gasoline, retail sales still posted a 0.5 percent advance after jumping 1.4 percent rebound the previous month.
http://bloomberg.econoday.com/by ... mberg&year=2009 |
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