U.S. consumers pulled back again in April, as retail sales dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, the eighth decline in the past 10 months, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. Retail sales were 10.1% lower than in April 2008, with about a third of the decline stemming from lower gasoline prices. Sales in the first four months of the year were down 10% compared with the same period a year ago. Sales were mixed across types of stores in April. Excluding the 0.2% increase in autos, sales fell 0.5%.
