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March Retail Sales Up 0.7%; February Data Revised HigherWASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) — Retail sales rose slightly more than expected in March, but February sales were much higher than first estimated. Retail sales were up 0.7 percent as warmer weather and an earlier-than-usual Easter holiday encouraged shoppers in March. Excluding automobiles and parts, sales were up 0.8 percent, somewhat less than expected, according to the Commerce Department report. Another Commerce Department report showed business inventories were up an expected 0.3 percent in February. But if autos were excluded, they advanced by 0.8 percent, the biggest increase in 11 months. Manufacturing inventories were flat in February, while retailers increased their stockpiles by 0.3 percent. That reflected a 0.7 percent decrease in auto and parts inventories, the biggest decline since November. Sales for February were revised sharply upward, and economists took this as a sign that consumer buying, which fuels two-thirds of economic growth, was still strong. The consumer in the first quarter appears to have been by far the strongest component of aggregate demand, Bear Stearns economists wrote in a report after the release of the data, and this strength supports our view that gains in jobs and income are far more important to consumer spending than asset valuations, housing or mortgage equity withdrawal. The latest retail sales figure left economists thinking that first-quarter economic growth might be stronger than first thought, particularly after the strong upward revisions to the February sales numbers. Economists polled ahead of the report were expecting retail sales to advance 0.6 percent over all and 0.9 percent excluding automobiles. Figures for the previous month were revised up, to a 0.5 percent rise in overall sales from the scant 0.1 percent reported initially. Excluding autos, sales were revised to a 0.4 percent gain in February from a 0.1 percent fall. A separate report released Monday by the New York Federal Reserve showed manufacturing activity in New York State factories rose only slightly in April after hitting a nearly two-year low in March. The New York Feds index of general business conditions for the factory sector edged up to 3.80 in April, from 1.85 in March. Economists polled by Reuters had expected an April reading of 7.5. The survey of manufacturing plants in the state is one of the earliest monthly guideposts to factory conditions. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationTD Bank to Acquire Commerce...Ford’s resort aims to bring luxury skiing to the roof of the world... Tempus: BAA ... AstraZeneca ... HBOS... DataBank: Stock Market Slips on a Triple Threat... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - March Retail Sales Up 0.7%; February Data Revised Higher |
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