Retail sales increase for the ninth consecutive gain.

Released on 4/13/2011 8:30:00 AM For Mar, 2011

	Prior	Consensus	Consensus Range	Actual
Retail Sales – M/M change	1.0 %	0.5 %	0.0 % to 1.2 %	0.4 %
Retail Sales less autos – M/M change	0.7 %	0.7 %	0.2 % to 1.8 %	0.8 %

Market Consensus Before Announcement
Retail sales in February surged 1.0 percent, following a 0.7 percent boost in January and a 0.6 percent increase in December. Autos led the headline number up, jumping 2.3 percent, following a 1.2 percent gain in January. Excluding autos, sales advanced 0.7 percent, following a 0.6 percent gain in January. A notable part of this increase was price related on higher gasoline prices. Gasoline sales were up 1.4 percent after a 1.3 percent boost the month before. Nonetheless, sales excluding autos and gasoline improved a strong 0.6 percent, following a 0.5 percent rise in January.

Definition
Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of GDP and is therefore a key element in economic growth.