Purchases increased 0.8 percent, following a 1.7 percent gain in October that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 0.6 percent rise. Excluding autos, gasoline and building materials, which are the figures used to calculate gross domestic product, sales climbed 0.9 percent, the most since August.
Customers snapped up discounts at chains like Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc. during the Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional kick-off to the busiest sales season of the year. Even as the world’s largest economy gains momentum heading into 2011, high unemployment and the risk of a prolonged drop in prices remain concerns for Federal Reserve policy makers meeting today.
The holiday-shopping “season got off to a really solid start,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York, who correctly forecast the increase in sales. “There’s no question this will be the strongest quarter for consumer spending since before the recession. The economy has pretty good momentum going into the new year.”
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