U.S. retail sales posted a stronger-than-expected gain in September as prices at the wholesale level also rose significantly. The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales increased 0.6 percent last month, compared to August. The rise came as a big increase in auto sales helped offset weak demand for clothing. The increase was double what economists had predicted and came despite reports Thursday of poor demand from the nation's leading retail chains. The data did show weakness at department stores and specialty clothing shops, where unusually warm weather dampened demand for fall clothing. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said that gains in food and energy costs helped push the overall wholesale inflation figure up by 1.1 percent. Excluding those volatile categories, however, wholesale prices were up by a moderate 0.1 percent. The weakness in sales at clothing stores was offset by a 1.2 percent in September in auto sales following an even bigger 3.3 percent increase in August. Sales at gasoline stations also rose strongly in September, up 2 percent following a 2.6 percent drop in August. The strength in retail sales may be enough to ease investor concerns about the U.S. housing market slump and fears that the turmoil it caused in the financial markets could contribute to a U.S. recession. The 1.1 percent rise in wholesale inflation, which followed a 1.4 percent drop in August, was more than double what economists had been expecting. The big increase was driven by a 4.1 percent surge in energy prices in September, including an 8.4 percent jump in gasoline costs, the biggest rise for gasoline prices since March. Food costs were up by 1.5 percent. The 0.6 percent rise in retail sales followed a more subdued 0.3 percent increase in August and was the biggest increase since a similar 0.6 percent rise in July. Excluding autos, sales would have been up by 0.4 percent in September.
