February retail sales drop more than expected

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Retail sales fell a larger-than-expected 1.3 percent in February as auto sales plunged and consumers took a breather after spending big in January, a government report showed on Tuesday.

The drop in sales in February was even larger than the 0.8 percent decline forecast by Wall Street and marked the first decline in retail demand since August, the report showed. However, the Commerce Department revised up January’s sales to show a whopping 2.9 percent rise, from the originally reported 2.3 percent gain. Analysts said unusually warm weather in January had boosted shopping.

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