WASHINGTON, Dec 11 - Heading into the holiday shopping season, U.S. retail sales posted a better-than-expected 0.9 percent increase in November, boosted by surging auto and electronics sales, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Auto sales rose a hefty 2.6 percent in the month, the department said, their best performance since March, and helping the overall sales figure handily surpass Wall Street expectations of a 0.7 percent retail sales gain.
Sales outside of the auto sector in November were up a smaller 0.4 percent, however. Sales at electronics and appliance outlets, clothing stores and gasoline stations posted substantial gains, while purchases at department stores dipped. Analysts track retail sales as a major component of consumer spending, which drives about two-thirds of the U.S. economy. November's figures, along with an upward revision to October's sales to flat from the previously reported 0.3 percent decline, may ease worries that fourth-quarter economic growth could slow dramatically from the strong pace in the third quarter.//