ISTANBUL

Retail trade in the US was up 0.6% month-on-month in November, following a decline of 0.1% in October, according to US Census Bureau data released Wednesday.

The markets had expected the retail sales to rise 0.5%, while the total trade volume amounted to $735.9 billion.

The biggest rises were seen in sales for sporting goods, musical instrument, & book stores (1.9%), miscellaneous store retailers (1.7%), and gasoline stations (1.4%).

Sales at building and garden suppliers (1.3%), motor vehicle dealers (1%), clothing stores (0.9%), and food services & drinking places (0.6%) also saw increases.

However, sales were flat at general merchandise and electronics stores and decreased by 0.1% at furniture stores.

Meanwhile, sales that are used to compute GDP, which do not include food services, car dealers, construction material stores, and petrol stations, rose 0.4%.

On an annual basis, retail sales rose 3.3%.