Shoppers Keep Their Wallets Open as US Retail Sales Tick Up in September

Shoppers kept their wallets open in September as retail sales rose, though less than expected. Retail sales increased for the fourth consecutive month, rising 0.2 percent for a total of $733.3 billion, according to data released on Nov. 25 by the Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau. This followed a 0.6 percent rise in August and represented the smallest increase in four months. The market consensus indicated a 0.4 percent jump. On a 12-month basis, the increase in retail sales eased to 4.3 percent, from 5 percent in August. “It’s not surprising that retail sales took a breather in September following a pretty good summer,” Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said in a statement to The Epoch Times. “October brought the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, which is also expected to be solid.”...