The increase was largely due to a 1.8% month-over-month increase in auto sales.
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Sales rose a healthy 1.7% at vehicle dealerships, which helped drive the modest increase in overall purchases.
Commerce reported that September retail sales at $447.7, which matched August’s tally, billion were up 0.1 percent compared to August, following a 0.2 percent July to August increase, and were up 2.4 percent compared to September 2014.
Retail sales in the US barely moved higher last month – about half what many analysts were expecting.
Read the Census release. Economists had predicted a rise of 0.2%. “If sentiment had indeed shifted, it would be hard to explain why sales of cars, certainly among the more expensive items, jumped in September to their highest level since July 2005”, said Harm Bandholz, chief economist at UniCredit Research in New York. As was the case earlier this year, sharp declines in retail gasoline prices can weigh on core sales given the increasingly widespread sale of gasoline at large retailers that fall within the general merchandise category.
“The main takeaway from this report is to both reinforce the view that a rate hike in October is a 0% probability event while also providing fodder for those arguing the economy noticeably downshifted in the third quarter”, said Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG.
Traders believe that there is just a 30.4pc chance of a Fed rate hike by the end of the year, believing that one will arrive in March instead. It was the eighth straight 12-month decrease in the index. The August figure was revised lower, down from an original growth estimate of 0.2 percent.
E-commerce sales declined, as did sales at general-merchandise stores, home centers, grocery stores, and appliances and electronics stores.
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The data come as the US Federal Reserve continues to mull over an interest rate rise, as it weighs the impact of a slowing Chinese economy and inflation that is well below target. That is despite signs that an economic slowdown in China was beginning to hurt the USA economy, including disappointing job growth in September. Receipts at building materials and garden equipment stores fell 0.3 per cent, while sales at furniture stores rose 0.6 per cent.
