WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With gasoline prices showing a substantial increase, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a significant jump in retail sales in the U.S. in the month of September.
The Commerce Department said retail sales surged up by 1.6 percent in September after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in August.
Economists had expected retail sales to spike by 1.7 percent compared to the 0.2 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a jump in auto sales, retail sales still shot up by 1.0 percent in September after climbing by 0.5 percent in August. Ex-auto sales had been expected to rise by 0.3 percent.
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