1 Retail sales rose modestly in January, held back by the first drop in auto sales in half a year. It was the ninth straight month when sales either rose or remained steady.
2 The Commerce Department said Tuesday that sales advanced 0.2 percent last month, less than analysts predicted, and matched the December advance.
3 The government previously estimated that sales fell 0.1 percent in December, prompting speculation a long-awaited slowdown in consumer spending had begun.
4 Auto sales fell 0.6 percent last month, the first drop since a 1 percent decline in July. Excluding car sales, a volatile component, retail sales rose 0.4 percent in January.
5 The Commerce Department also revised its figures for November to show a sales gain of 0.4 percent instead of an earlier 0.2 percent estimate.
6 Analysts have been expecting slower economic growth as the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates seven times in the last year. The most recent boost, a half-percentage point, was on Feb. 1.
7 The Commerce Department said sales totaled a seasonally adjusted dlrs 193.2 billion in January, up from dlrs 192.9 billion.
8 Retail sales, accounting for about half of consumer spending, have risen or remain unchanged since falling 1 percent in April.
9 Sales of durable goods -- including appliances, autos and other goods expected to last more than three years -- were down 0.4 percent in January after declining nearly as much, 0.3 percent, in December.
10 Still, durable goods increased 10.5 percent over a year earlier, and all sales last month were 8 percent higher than January 1994.
11 Sales followed a mixed pattern in January, higher for building materials, hardware and garden supplies but down for home furnishings and furniture as well as autos.
12 Nondurable goods followed up a 0.2 percent increase in December by rising 0.5 percent in January. The category was led by a 1.9 percent jump in gasoline purchases and a 1.1 percent gain for department stores.
13 Clothing sales were down 0.5 percent after falling 0.9 percent in December.
14 Sales at food stores rose 0.7 percent and at drug store climbed 1 percent, both rebounding from December declines.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that sales advanced 0 . 2 percent last month , less than analysts predicted , and matched the December advance .
less than analysts predicted ,
Why were analysts predicting higher sales?