U.S. retail sales show gain in November

U.S. consumers picked up their spending in November, according to statistics released by the U.S. Commerce Department Friday.

Retail sales rose 1.3 per cent in November, up from the 1.1 per cent improvement in October.

"This was a surprisingly strong report and suggests that U.S. consumers are slowly regaining their spending mojo," Millan Mulraine, an economics strategist with TD Securities, said in a commentary.

Consumer spending is a major part of American economic activity and a closely watched indicator of economic recovery.

The rise in sales was the fifth gain in the last seven months. Excluding autos and gasoline purchasing, which are more volatile, so-called core retail sales were up 1.2 per cent. Thatsuggests "strong momentum," said Mulraine.

All the same, with unemployment still high, Mulraine predicted a more modest increase in consumer spending in the months ahead.