The Washington Post Retail Sales  
Retail sales slipped 0.1 percent in February as car sales tumbled following the end of another round of cut-rate financing offers, the government said yesterday.</br></br>Although sales also had dipped in January, many private analysts dismissed the significance of the back-to-back declines on grounds that a variety of factors point to stronger economic growth and rising consumer demand in the months ahead.</br></br>Without a big drop in auto sales, retail sales would have posted a 0.3 percent increase last month, and analysts said that figure was more reflective of consumer sentiment.</br></br>The Commerce Department said sales totaled $117.3 billion last month, $90 million below the January level. Sales had fallen 0.2 percent in January after posting a solid 1.9 percent December increase.</br></br>Sales had not declined for two consecutive months since May and June. Normally, weakness in retail sales is cause for concern, since consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity.