U.S. retail sales inch higher in March

Retail sales in the United States rose 1.6 per cent in March, the third consecutive monthly gain.

Better weather and auto incentives encouraged more spending, the Commerce Department said in releasing official dataWednesday. Sales are now up in five of the past six months.

The1.6 per cent gain was up from February's revised 0.5 per cent gain. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a gain of 1.2 per cent.

Gains were widespread ascar dealers, home furnishing stores, building suppliers, clothing retailers and general merchandise stores all reported increases.

Auto sales rose 6.7 per cent, the most since October. Evenexcluding autos, sales rose 0.6 per cent, also ahead of the 0.5 per cent expected by analysts.

"However, the increase has been funded by households reducing their savings rate, suggesting some cooling later this year," BMO economist Jennifer Lee said.

She also noted that furniture and appliance sales might be artificially higher because of the launching of Cash for Appliances incentive programs in numerous U.S. states.