U.S. Retail Sales Rise 1.4% in March; Ex-Auto Sales Up 0.5%, Control Group Sales at 0.4%

U.S. retail sales for March 2025 increased by 1.4% month-over-month, surpassing expectations of a 1.3% rise. This follows a previous increase of 0.2%. When excluding automobiles, retail sales rose by 0.5%, exceeding the anticipated 0.3% and revising the previous figure from 0.3% to 0.7%. Retail sales excluding both autos and gas saw a 0.8% increase, higher than the expected 0.6% and matching the previous revision. Meanwhile, the retail control group sales, which are considered a key indicator, rose by 0.4%, falling short of the forecasted 0.6% and revising down from an earlier 1.0%. These figures indicate a robust performance in consumer spending despite some mixed results in specific categories.