U.S. consumers opened their wallets at the start of the holiday shopping season as retail sales posted their best month since July.
November retail sales rose 0.6 percent, from a downwardly adjusted 0.1 percent decline in the previous month, according to the Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau on Jan. 14.
This came in higher than the market forecast of 0.4 percent.
Retail sales also climbed by 3 percent year-over-year, higher than economists’ expectations of 2.7 percent.
Broad-based gains were driven by rebounding auto sales and robust holiday shopping, contributing to the better-than-expected reading.
Motor vehicle and parts sellers, home‑improvement and garden retailers, gas stations, sporting‑goods shops, and other miscellaneous stores all posted increases of more than 1 percent….