US sees rebound in retail sales

Consumers haven't been put off by high interest rates and fuel prices

US retail sales recovered in March, according to Commerce Department data, calming fears that the country is in the midst of a consumer slowdown.

Sales rose 0.6% last month after the drop of 0.8% seen in February.

Retail sales had jumped 3% in January when unseasonably warm weather had helped lure people into the shops.

But analysts had feared that rising interest rates and energy prices and a cooling housing market were beginning to curb shoppers' enthusiasm.

Retail sales are a key indicator for US business because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy.

Promising signs

March was a good month at the cash tills for car dealers, furniture stores, building and garden centres, sports shops, book and music sellers and health and beauty retailers.

Business was weak for electrical stores and petrol stations.

Excluding sales of cars, which can fluctuate sharply from month to month, retail sales rose 0.4% in March, compared with a 0.3% decline in February.

Total sales for the first three months of the year are now 8.3% up on the same period of 2005.

"Consumer spending is going to hang in stronger this quarter than a lot of people thought because of job and wage growth," Michael Gregory, a senior economist at investment bank BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto, said before the Commerce Department report.

"That's going to result in good performance for the US economy."