Retail sales up in March

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail sales rose for the third straight month in March as better weather and auto incentives brought out shoppers in force.

The rise was more than economists had expected. It's the latest sign that consumer spending is rising fast enough to support a modest economic recovery.

Sales rose 1.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said today, up from February's revised 0.5 percent gain. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a gain of 1.2 percent.

The increases were widespread. Car dealers, home furnishing stores, building suppliers, sporting goods stores, clothing retailers and general merchandise stores all reported gains. Auto sales rose 6.7 percent, the department said, the most since last October.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said consumer prices edged up just 0.1 percent in March. And excluding food and energy, prices were unchanged in March. Over the past 12 months, those prices have risen at the slowest pace in six years.