Washington, DC, February 14, 2006--Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 2.3% in January as gasoline and motor vehicle sales strengthened, according to a Commerce Department report.
Excluding the 3% gain in auto sales, seasonally adjusted retail sales rose 2.2% for the month.
Overall, retail sales were the strongest since May 2004. Gasoline sales climbed 5.5%.
Economists had forecast an increase during the month of only 0.9%.
Retail sales excluding autos were also far stronger than the 0.8% expected.
