Retail sales edged down 0.1% to $44.0 billion in August. Lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, and general merchandise stores were the main contributors to the decline. Excluding these two subsectors, retail sales were up 0.2%. Sales were down in 7 of 11 subsectors, representing 57% of retail trade. After removing the effects of price changes, retail sales in volume terms decreased 0.3%. Sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers were down 0.5% in August, in large part because of weaker sales at new car dealers (-1.1%) and, to a much lesser extent, used car dealers (-0.6%). Following declines in July, sales ... (full story)