Retail sales jumped 1.6% in March, beating analysts’ expectations in large part due to a 6.7% rise in motor vehicle and parts sales, the Commerce Department reported today.
Excluding autos, retail sales increased 0.6%, also well above economists’ estimates.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had expected retail sales to rise 1.2% for the month and for sales excluding autos to increase 0.5%, according to the median estimate.