Retail Sales Rise 0.3%; Core Sales Up 0.9%

In February, retail sales rose 0.3%, following a rise of 0.1% in January. Sales growth in January were broad based with every major retail subcategory posting sales gains with the exception of auto and parts dealers. Retail sales not including the volatile autos and gasoline components rose 0.9% over the month, the strongest since November. From a year prior, sales were up 3.5%. This is a slower pace than December’s year-over-year gain of 4.3%; however, this is still a strong improvement from the negative annual rate see as recently as last October. Core sales, followed a similar patter, rising 1.5% from a year prior, down from a 2.9% gain in January.

Mo./ Mo. % Change	Feb	Jan	Dec	Nov	Oct	Sep
Total Sales	0.3	0.1	-0.2	2.0	1.2	-2.0
Ex Autos and Gas	0.9	0.5	-0.2	1.1	0.1	0.6
Year/ Year % Change
Total Sales	3.5	4.3	5.5	2.7	-2.0	-6.1
Ex Autos and Gas	1.5	1.9	2.3	0.9	-0.9	-1.7

10.03.12 (Source: Census Bureau)