Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Pent-up Consumer Demand Is Unleashed - Retail Sales Register Highest Yearly Increase in Four Years

WSJ -- "U.S. retail sales surged in March, topping expectations and giving a strong sign consumers are growing more confident the economy is improving. Retail sales leaped by 1.6% last month, the Commerce Department said today. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 1.3% increase. The gain was the biggest in four months.

Robust car sales drove much of the better-than-expected increase in retail sales. Yet excluding the automotive sector, other retailers were strong as well. Clothing stores, for instance, saw sales jump by 2.3%. The report Wednesday was another suggestion that a pent-up demand from the recession is being unleashed within the recovering U.S. economy."

MP: On a year-to-year basis, retail sales increased 7.6% in March, the highest annual gain since January 2006, more than four years ago.

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