NEW YORK — Americans backed off from holiday spending in January, but retail sales rose for a third month in a row compared with a year earlier, largely because of gas price hikes, according to figures released by a key data service.
Including goods from food to clothing to gasoline — but excluding cars — U.S. retail sales rose 3.6 per cent from January 2009, according to MasterCard Advisor’s SpendingPulse, which offer an estimate of spending in all forms including cash.
That increase followed a 4.8 per cent gain in December and a 2.1 per cent gain in November, according to SpendingPulse.
Excluding both gas and auto sales, retail sales rose 0.3 per cent in January, 2.1 per cent in December and 0.2 per cent in November compared with a year earlier. The year-over-year figures are not seasonally adjusted.