US retail sales increased more than expected in August, rebounding from a decline in the previous month, according to figures released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
Retail sales rose 1.2% in August after falling by a revised 0.5% in July.
Economists had forecast a 0.7% increase for August. The July decline was revised from the 0.6% decrease initially reported.
The August increase exceeded economists’ expectations by 0.5 percentage points.
Retail Sales Excluding Autos Increase 1.4%
Retail sales excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers rose 1.4% in August, following a 0.2% decline in July.
Economists had expected sales excluding autos to increase by 0.5%.
The reported increase was therefore 0.9 percentage points above forecasts.
Sales excluding motor vehicles and parts dealers grew at a faster monthly rate than overall retail sales, indicating that the increase was not confined to the automotive category.
Both headline retail sales and sales excluding autos returned to growth in August following declines in July.
The supplied figures do not provide a breakdown of individual retail categories or indicate how much of the increase reflected changes in prices rather than sales volumes.