Retail Sales Rise 0.9% in December

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U.S. retail sales rose 0.9% in November, the Commerce Department said Friday. The increase, which followed a revised 0.6% decline in November that was less than the 1% first reported, was above the 0.7% forecast by economists, Bloomberg reported.The increase was the highest since July. Sales excluding automobiles rose 1%, the most since January 2006. Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.