Retail sales climb in September on strong auto sales

Consumers may be having an easier time financing their automotive transactions, as retail sales spiked in September on a significant uptick in vehicle purchases. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported Friday that retail sales increased by 1.1 percent last month to an adjusted $395.47 billion, substantially higher than the 0.8 percent projected by Down Jones. According to Autodata Corp, September light-vehicle deliveries climbed to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 13.1 million, the highest figure since April. Excluding vehicles, overall retail sales were up 0.6 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. Data from the automotive industry may indicate a resurgence in consumer sentiment. However, wider conditions remain somewhat bleak. "Consumers remain relatively resilient," Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics, told Bloomberg Businessweek. "It's evident they don't want to cut back on spending. It's going to be a decent but not spectacular holiday shopping season." A recent report from Accenture found 88 percent of U.S. consumers plan to spend the same or more this year than they did during the 2010 holiday season.