UPDATE 1US March exauto retail sales +0.6 pctSpendingPulse
(Adds details from report, quote)
NEW YORK, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales excluding
cars rose in March following a record drop in February, but
much of the rebound was fueled by record-high gasoline prices,
according to a private report released on Thursday.
Consumer spending minus auto sales climbed 0.6 percent last
month on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared with a 1.1
percent fall in February, said SpendingPulse, the retail data
service of MasterCard Advisors, an arm of MasterCard Worldwide
(MA.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
February’s monthly decline was the biggest since the
inception of the SpendingPulse retail data series in 2003.
“We are seeing fairly weak retail numbers after you take
out gasoline sales,” said Kamalesh Rao, director of economic
research at MasterCard Advisors.
The average price of retail gasoline reached a record $3.29
a gallon last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
said on Monday. Analysts forecast gasoline prices could climb
to $4 a gallon during the peak summer driving season.
Factoring out gasoline, month-over-month sales grew 0.3
percent in March, Rao said.
An earlier Easter this year did not yield a sizable boost
in sales, according to Rao.
The negative impact on retail sales from lofty gasoline
prices was exacerbated by colder-than-normal weather last
month. Most retailers on Thursday reported dismal March results
with some store operators posting double-digit declines in
year-over-year sales. For details see [ID:nN10445667]. Continued…
