US retail sales rise boosted by car sales (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

US retail sales rose in July after two months of declines, largely due to an increase in car sales, figures show.

Total sales climbed 0.4% from the previous month, when sales dropped by a revised 0.3%, the Commerce Department said.

Without the impact of car sales, overall retail sales rose by 0.2%.

US retail sales are seen as a key indicator of the health of the US economy as consumer spending accounts for about 70% of US economic activity.

Sales in July totalled $362.7bn (£232.4bn), and were 5.9% higher than the same month a year earlier.
***
more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10965992




Gosh! And here we were going to let the auto makers go bankrupt ...