September retail sales below expectations

When adjusted for inflation, retail sales grew just 2.9 percent. Earlier this month experts predicted that September retail sales would grow by a median of 7.6 percent year-on-year. Month-on-month, retail sales dropped 1.7 percent. Financial markets showed no immediate reaction to the data.

The main factor influencing the disappointing numbers was much lower-than-expected car sales, which dropped by over 10 percent, year on year. According to Artur Ulbrich, an economist with BRE Bank, car sales have been declining for several months but this month's decline "is pretty big."  (Reuters)