Retail Sales Rose in February, but Gas Prices Are a Worry

Most of the nation’s retailers on Thursday reported improved sales in February, topping expectations in a month hit hard by winter weather and in which gasoline prices rose sharply.
The Thomson Reuters overall index that tracks sales of retail stores open at least a year rose 4.2 percent in February.
“It doesn’t meant there are no headwinds but I think this is moving in the right direction,” said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, which had forecast a 3.7 percent rise last month in sales at stores open at least a year, a crucial indicator called same-store sales.
“Sales might have been even better had we not seen this precipitous rise in gas prices,” Mr. Perkins said. “It is certainly on consumers’ minds. People are really starting to notice $3.50 a gallon in some parts of the country. If it is sustainable and goes to $4, it is really going to have an effect.”

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