Retail sales rise 0.4% in March

Marketwatch ^ | April 13, 2011 | Greg Robb

[MulberryDraw]

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales at U.S. retailers increased 0.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted $396.3 billion, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. This is the ninth straight increase in retail sales but the smallest gain since the string started last July. Sales rose an upwardly revised 1.1% in February. Details of the March report were weak as much of the sales gain came from by higher gasoline prices. Excluding gasoline, retail sales rose 0.1% in March.

[MulberryDraw]

Sales rose 0.1% excluding gasoline. So what was the real inflation rate?

[screaminsunshine]

Inflation was 6% for a 5.5% net loss of actual sales. On this news the stocks should soar.

[Daisyjane69]

This tells me that people are massively pulling in their belts, hoping to weather this abysmal economy.

[Truth29]

Is it me or is it the writing? How can both of these statements be true:

"Sales at U.S. retailers increased 0.4% in March"

"Excluding the 1.7% drop in motor vehicle sales, retail sales rose 0.8%"

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Sales are up, must be preppers stocking up a little extra.

[Abathar]

They only give the statistics in dollar amounts, I would love to see the raw sales numbers in units sold also. With the inflation that’s going on I can easily see those numbers headed in different directions on the graph.

[CitizenUSA]

The more $ they make, the more $ they lose. Ah, the joys of inflation (aka the hidden tax).

[nhwingut]

If you exclude gas... sales were zip, zilch, nada.

[nhwingut]

I can’t even believe they put ‘0.4%’ in a headline. But I guess it allows them to say sales ‘rise.’

You know it it were Bush, headline would be: Retail sales flat in March

[Hoodat]

But . . . but Bernanke said that this reckless expansion of the money supply ($2.6 trillion and counting over the last 24 months) would not be inflationary at all.

[familyop]

"Details of the March report were weak as much of the sales gain came from by higher gasoline prices."

..."came from by higher gasoline prices?" After we decipher that, we see that the headline is misleading. Our sponsoring leaders are morons.