U.S. Retail Sales Post Biggest Gain in 7 Months in October

[spanone]

Sales at the nation’s retailers and food service establishments rose in October compared with the previous month, according to government figures released on Monday, providing a glimmer of hope that consumer spending was set to improve in the fourth quarter.

The Commerce Department statistics, which also showed an improvement over October 2009, sales, were better than what economists had forecast, and were based on upward revisions in similar sales in September and August. Economists hope they indicate that consumer spending is gaining strength, although many households are still de-leveraging and dealing with uncertainties in employment.

With an expected slow recovery in the job market and therefore small gains in wages, growth in consumer spending will be “modest at best,” said Joshua Shapiro, the chief United States economist for MFR Inc.

The Commerce Department said retail sales in October were up 1.2 percent from September, a jump from economists’ predictions of 0.7 percent. The October sales were also 7.3 percent higher compared with October last year. The seasonally adjusted figure represents $373.1 billion in sales.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/business/economy/16econ.html?ref=global-home&pagewanted=print

[Mimosa]

1. Happy to read it. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Demand that is good

[spanone]

4. ...and christmas time's a comin'

[bluestateguy]

3. I think this will be a decent Christmas shopping season

Better than 2008 and 2009, but maybe still not as good as pre-Lehman Brothers.

[doubleplusgood]

5. good news but...

as the economy gets better, the R's will take credit

[SidDithers]

6. K&R...nt

Sid

[juajen]

7. Of course, it was Halloween, silly people. November and

December will also be up. Biggest retail sales of the year.

[Cant trust em]

8. It goes beyond just holiday spending.

From the article...

"The rise in the October numbers was primarily attributed to a 14 percent gain in motor vehicles and parts sales, and in sales at gasoline stations. Still, the statistics, which were adjusted for seasonal and holiday variations, show that when those components are removed the retail sales were also better than expected, registering a 0.4 percent rise."