Auto sales help retail’s modest gain

Washington D.C. The summer’s retail sales may have been lower than expected, but the market disclosed that the modest gain was helped by the biggest jump in auto sales in more than a year.

The retail sales performance would have been much weaker without the big gain in auto sales in August, according to analysts. Excluding autos, retail sales would have fallen by 0.4 percent, the poorest showing in nearly a year.

U.S. stocks fell Friday after the government reported August retail sales, excluding autos, declined acutely, indicating that consumers may have held off spending during a declining financial market.

A separate report released on Friday showed that consumer confidence, as measured by the RBC Cash Index, fell to 71.1 in early September, a sharp drop from an August reading of 89.3. It was the worst showing for the survey, done by polling firm Ipsos, since May 2006.