U.S. retail sales rise more than expectation in November

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. retail sales rose more than economists expected in November as Americans increased spending at the start of the holiday shopping season, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Retail sales rose 0.8 percent from the previous month to a seasonally-adjusted 492.7 billion U.S. dollars in November, following a revised 0.5 percent gain in October, the department said. That was significantly above economists' expectations of 0.3 percent. Year on year, total retail sales rose 5.8 percent last month.

In November, sales at sporting goods, book and music stores rose 0.9 percent and online sales rose 2.5 percent, while purchases of motor vehicles and parts fell 0.2 percent. Excluding volatile auto sales, total retail sales edged up 0.8 percent from the previous month.

The upbeat retail sales data suggest that the U.S. economy is on track for robust growth in the fourth quarter of the year, as consumer spending accounts for about two thirds of the whole economy.

The U.S. economy is expected to expand at 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter, matching the same growth rate in the previous quarter, according to the latest forecast from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Enditem