US retail sales rise more than expected in January

US retail sales rose more than expected in January, according to data from the Commerce Department.

Sales were up 0.2% on the month, driven by a large increase in non-store sales, beating economists’ expectations of a 0.1% increase and in line with the upwardly-revised 0.2% rise in December.

So-called control group sales, which exclude auto, gasoline, building materials and food services, were up 0.6%, also exceeding expectations for a gain of 0.4%.

“With US data on the whole far from convincing following the interest rate rise, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will be pleased with the green shoots shown in today’s retail sales figures,” said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.

“Any positive figure is a step in the right direction, and onlookers still await an uptick in consumer activity prompted by continuing low fuel and energy prices.”

"While next week’s data on consumer prices are needed to refine our estimate of January real consumption growth, this morning’s release supports our expectation that consumption growth will rebound in Q1," Barclays's Jesse Hurwitz said.

Following Friday's release, Barclays's tracking-estimate for the rate of growth in first quarter gross domestic product was unchanged at 2.5%.