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Retail sales rise 0.2%
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February 11, 1999: 9:11 a.m. ET
January results in line with analysts' consensus; some caution flags seen
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Retail sales slacked off about as expected in January, rising 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the 0.9 percent increase in December, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The increase, to $232.2 billion, was in line with the consensus of analysts surveyed by Reuters. But the 0.2 percent increase in sales excluding autos was below the 0.6 percent rise in the consensus estimate.
The Bureau of the Census said there was particular strength in department store sales, which were up 1.5 percent. Weakness was seen in food and gasoline service station sales, both of which were down 0.5 percent.
"The bet is that this will not be repeated next month," David Blitzer, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, told CNNfn.
But in predicting that retail spending will resume its strength in February, Blitzer said there may be some caution flags for an economy bolstered by a consumer shopping spree.
"A cash-flow problem may not be that far away," he said. "The question is where's the consumer going to get the money."
On a year-to-year basis, seasonally adjusted retail sales were up 6.1 percent overall, and up 5.3 percent excluding automobiles. Building supply sales were strongest, up 9.1 percent, while continued low gas prices helped keep service station sales down 2 percent on an annual basis.
Treasury prices were little changed by the report. After the 8:30 ET release, the U.S. 30-year bond was down 7/32 to 98-7/32, yielding 5.37 percent; before the release, the bond was down 6/32. 
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