Retail Sales Up Slight 0.1%

Retail sales rose a weak 0.1% in January as big setbacks at department stores and clothing stores offset strong consumer demand for new autos, the government reported today.

The Commerce Department said the January performance was the poorest since sales plummeted 3.9% in October after auto makers ended their first round of cut-rate financing incentives. While auto sales showed a good 0.9% gain in January, reflecting a resumption of the financing deals, sales at department stores dropped a sharp 2%, the second monthly decline.