Most sectors see healthy gain, in contrast to private-sector reports U.S. retailers rang up their largest increase in sales in more than a year in January, rebounding strongly after six straight months of sharp declines, the Commerce Department reported. Retail sales increased 1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in January, the first increase since June and the largest percentage increase since November 2007. The gain was unexpected, with economists surveyed by MarketWatch looking for a decline of 0.4%. See Economic Calendar. Sales fell 3% in December and 2.4% in November, each revised down 0.3%. The figures are adjusted for seasonal factors but not for price changes. The data can be quite volatile. Retail sales are down 9.7% in the past year. Read the full report. Rising gasoline prices boosted sales at gas stations by 2.6%, but had only a small impact on the dollar volume of sales in January. Total retail sales excluding gasoline rose 0.9%. The bullish government report is at odds with reports from retail chain stores and from automakers, which reported weak sales in January. The government data, by contrast, showed most retail sectors enjoying increased sales in January compared with December. Retail sales account for about half of consumer spending, which has fallen sharply in the past two quarters. In a separate report, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 623,000. Details Sales of durable goods were mixed. Auto sales rose 1.6% in December after falling 2% in December. Automakers had reported their worst sales month in decades, but much of the decline came from fleet sales, which are not included in the government's retail sales report. Excluding the 1.6% increase in auto sales, retail sales increased 0.9%, much better than the 0.3% decline expected. Sales at furnishing stores fell 1.3% and sales at building materials stores dropped 3.2%. However, sales at electronics stores rose 2.6%. Sales of nondurable goods were mostly higher in January. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 1.1%, despite a 0.3% decline at department stores. Sales at apparel stores increased 1.6%. Sales at food stores rose 2.1%, the biggest increase in more than two years. Sales at restaurants increased 0.8%. Sales at health and personal care stores were flat. Sales at stores catering to leisure-time activities, such as reading and sports, fell 0.5%. Sales at nonstore retailers, such as catalogs and online stores, rose 2.7%.

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