Spending Grows At Slower Pace

Americans tempered their spending on new cars, restraining total retail sales to just a 0.1 percent gain in September. But sales are still well ahead of last year, and economists aren’t ruling out a third interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that total retail sales rose last month to a seasonally adjusted $253.4 billion. The increase was a little weaker than the 0.2 percent gain many analysts were anticipating.

A 1.3 percent drop in sales of new cars and trucks in September - following big gains in July and August - was the biggest factor in the small sales advance.