AlQa'dah 16, 1432, Oct 14, 2011, SPA -- U.S. retail sales rebounded in September at their fastest pace in seven months as consumers moved past some of their concerns about stock-market declines and political gridlock in Washington, potentially giving new momentum to the weak economic recovery. The Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales rose a bigger-than-expected 1.1 percent last month, following a 0.3 percent advance in August, helped by higher spending on autos, clothing, and furniture. Sales of autos and auto parts rose 3.6 percent in September, the biggest gain since March 2010. The increase, along with higher sales of gasoline and electronics-offset lower sales of groceries and building materials. Excluding autos, retail sales increased 0.6 percent last month, above forecasts for a 0.3 percent gain. Excluding sales of autos, gasoline, and building materials, so-called "core" retail sales rose 0.6 percent in September. The retail-sales data is the government's first look at consumer spending each month. Stronger spending could help reduce worries that the economy is at risk of a second recession. Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. Consumer confidence rebounded modestly in September after plunging in early August to its lowest level in more than three decades. Confidence fell over the summer when a bitter battle over the U.S. budget hurt stock prices and pushed the country to the brink of default. Even with September's improvement, Americans were still more concerned about the economic outlook than at any point since 1980. The overall economy grew at a 0.9 percent annual rate in the first half of the year, the weakest growth since the recession ended in mid-2009. High unemployment and expensive fuel forced many consumers to reduce spending in the spring. Without more jobs or higher pay increases, they are not likely to significantly increase spending.
