Washington, DC, November 12-- The Commerce Department reported that retail sales in October edged up 0.2 percent. The government said that the small increase followed a huge 1.6 percent jump in September, which had been the best showing in seven months.
The slowdown last month reflected a big 2.2 percent decline in auto sales. Without this big decline, retail sales would have risen by 0.9 percent last month, the best showing since last May, as various sectors outside of autos showed significant strength.
The 2.2 percent drop in car sales last month had followed a large 4.3 percent gain in September.
The strength in sales last month reflected gains in sales at clothing and accessory stores, department stores, food and beverage stores, gasoline stations and furniture stores.
In addition to the big drop in auto sales, other areas of weakness last month were sales at building supply and garden stores, which fell by 1.1 percent, and sales at electronics and appliance stores, which edged down a slight 0.1 percent.
Many mall-based apparel stores such as Limited Brands and Talbots saw a rebound in spending, helped by cooler weather. However, Wal-Mart and other discount merchants reported they had another month of lackluster sales.
