Retail Sales Fall in February

Retail sales in the United States fell 1.6% in February, their largest drop since November 2001, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The gloomy sales news came out at the same time the Labor Department offered mixed reports on the job market and import prices.

The decline in retail sales was three times the median estimate, according to Bloomberg. Excluding automobile sales, retail sales fell 1% during February.

The January retail sales report was revised upward to an increase of 0.3% from a 0.9% decline, Commerce reported. Ex-auto sales were amended to reflect a 1.2% increase from the originally reported 1.3% rise.

Analysts told Bloomberg that the sales report is more evidence that consumer confidence is eroding and that war fears are starting to impact the spending habits of American consumers.

The Labor Department added to the bad news, reporting that import prices rose 1.3% during February. Increased prices for imported goods can hurt U.S. truckers that haul imported goods from ports-of-entry to stores and warehouses.

Excluding petroleum imports, import prices rose 0.4% during the month. Over the last 12 months, Labor said that the price of imported petroleum products have risen 75%, Labor said.

In an another report from the Labor Department, initial jobless claims fell 15,000 to 420,000 in the week ended March 8. The decline pushed the four-week moving average to 419,750, Labor said. The average, which is used to smooth out anomalies in the weekly statistics, is at its highest point so far in 2003.