13.09.201908:36:00UTC+00U.S. Retail Sales Climb More Than Expected In August

Reflecting a jump in auto sales, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing U.S. retail sales increased by more than expected in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in August after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in July.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding the jump in auto sales, retail sales came in unchanged in August after surging up by 1.0 percent in July. Ex-auto sales had been expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.