Retail Sales Increase 1.4% in April
U.S. retailers rang up strong sales last month, suggesting that the economy has regained momentum even as many lower-income consumers remain hard hit by high energy prices.</br></br>Retail sales jumped 1.4 percent in April, more than triple their mild 0.4 percent gain in March, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. Auto dealers, department stores, home furnishers, building materials and garden centers, grocers, and gasoline stations were among the retailers that reported sales growth.</br></br>Following the news last Friday that job growth rose sharply in April, the retail report provided more evidence that the economy rebounded last month after noticeably losing steam in March.</br></br>"Signs of a 'soft spot' are disappearing," said Kevin Cummins, an economist with UBS Securities LLC, referring to the weak retail sales and decline in hiring, factory production and consumer confidence in March.</br></br>At the same time, however, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and others that cater to lower-income households continue to blame high energy costs, particularly gasoline prices, for their sluggish sales growth in recent months.