Retail Sales Show Signs of Stabilizing

Washington, DC, March 12, 2009--U.S. retail sales eased 0.1 percent last month after rising by a revised 1.8 percent in January, the Commerce Department said.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales increased 0.7 percent in February, compared to a 1.6 percent advance the previous month.

"There's stability in these numbers, particularly when you strip out autos and gas. So clearly the consumer is not completely knocked out," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at the Bank of New York-Mellon in New York.

"The difficulty, though, is we still need jobs growth and credit markets to thaw out before we can have a normal recovery."

Gasoline sales climbed 3.4 percent in February as prices rose -- the biggest gain since November 2007 -- after increasing by 2.8 percent in January. Sales of building materials dipped 0.2 percent in February after slipping 1.3 percent in the prior month.

Excluding both motor vehicle and gasoline sales, retail sales rose 0.5 percent in February after a 1.4 percent rise in January. On year, retail sales were down 8.6 percent overall, and 5.0 percent excluding motor vehicles.