A crowd of shoppers browse at Target on the Thanksgiving Day holiday in Burbank, Calif., in this November 22, 2012, file photo.JONATHAN ALCORN/Reuters
U.S. retail sales rose in November in a sign that steady job creation is adding momentum to consumer spending in the fourth quarter.
Sales rose 0.3 per cent, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 0.5 per cent.
A separate measure of sales that strips out automobiles, gasoline and building materials rose a more healthy 0.5 per cent.
That reading more closely follows the government's gauge of consumer spending, which is a major component of economic growth. These so-called core retail sales were flat in October, a slight upward revision from the previously reported decline of 0.1 per cent.
Economists had expected a 0.4 per cent increase in core sales in November.
The rise in overall sales was tempered by a 4 per cent decline in receipts at gasoline stations, the biggest drop since December 2008.
The Commerce Department said it had received indications from companies that superstorm Sandy had both positive and negative effects on November's sales data.
Motor vehicle sales rose 1.4 per cent. Sales at electronics stores jumped 2.5 per cent, while mail-order and Internet sales jumped 3 per cent.