November retail sales rise 0.2%, less than expected

American consumers spent their money in November at the slowest rate in five months, suggesting that the economy might not grow quite as fast as expected in the fourth quarter.

Sales at U.S. retailers increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in November from October, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Consumers gravitated toward cars and home electronics and spent less at bars, restaurants and grocery stores, government data showed.

Excluding the volatile automobile sector, sales still rose 0.2%. Automobile sales can swing sharply from month to month and obscure underlying retail trends.

Economists were expecting stronger sales in light of robust demand for automobiles and a record increase in spending during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which kicks off each year with the Black Friday shopping bonanza. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected retail sales to rise 0.5% overall, or 0.4% excluding the auto sector.

Peter Buchanan, an economist at CIBC World Markets, called retail sales a “fairly disappointing report” that could spur some firms to cut their estimates for fourth-quarter growth. The U.S. is projected to grow 3% in the final three months of 2011 based on the latest MarketWatch forecast.

Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of U.S. economic growth.

Bartash writes for MarketWatch.com/McClatchy.