WASHINGTON - Retail sales held steady in August, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, the slowest sales pace since a 0.2% decline in June 2010. Sales excluding motor vehicles and parts rose 0.1% for the month.
Total July retail sales were revised to a 0.3% increase from the 0.5% gain previously reported. July sales excluding autos were up 0.3%.
Economists expected increases of 0.2% for both overall and ex-autos according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Core retail sales excluding autos and gasoline were up 0.1%. The so-called control group of retail sales -- excluding autos, gas and building materials was also up 0.1% for the month.
On the effect of Hurricane Irene, J.P. Morgan economists advised in their pre-report analysis that "there is not a clear pattern to how hurricanes have affected core retail sales in the past."
Building materials, garden equipment and supplies stores showed a 0.2% increase in this case for August.
Motor vehicles and parts sales were down 0.3%. Clothing stores had a 0.7% drop. Gasoline station sales were up 0.3%. Electronics stores and online and mail order retailers both showed 0.5% increases.
