U.S. Retail Sales Rebound Less Than Expected In February

(RTTNews) - After reporting a notable decrease by U.S. retail sales in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Monday showing a modest rebound by retail sales in the month of February.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in February after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in January.

Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.7 percent compared to the 0.9 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a decrease in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales increased by 0.3 percent in February after falling by 0.6 percent in January. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.5 percent.