Retail Sales Up 1.5% Last Month

Shoppers rediscovered their urge to splurge in September, catapulting retail sales up by the largest percentage in six months. Industrial activity was restrained, meanwhile, partly because of hurricanes.

Retail sales jumped 1.5% in September, the best showing since March and a turnaround from the 0.2% drop in August, the Commerce Department said.

The buying bounce-back suggested that consumers, the economy’s lifeblood, still have an inclination to spend despite the galloping energy prices and a questionable jobs outlook, both of which have weighed on their confidence.

“Though many analysts had written off September as sluggish, consumers behaved otherwise,” said Rosalind Wells, chief economist at the National Retail Federation.

September’s strength was led by a rebound in sales at automobile dealerships, but shoppers also showed a hearty appetite to spend on a wide variety of goods, including electronics, appliances and clothing.

The Federal Reserve, in a separate report, said industrial production edged up 0.1% in September. The subdued showing was blamed partly on recent hurricanes, which curtailed activity in the oil and gas sector, petroleum refining and chemical production, the Fed said.

September’s small rise followed a decline of 0.1% in August, a figure that had been reported initially as a 0.1% increase.

In another report, wholesale prices rose 0.1% in September after falling 0.1% in August, the Labor Department said.