The Commerce Department releases retail sales data for February on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. MODEST RISE EXPECTED: Consumers probably opened up their wallets more in February, reversing two months of steep declines in retail spending. Gas prices actually rose last month, after plunging from June through January. That likely boosted the dollar value of sales at gas stations and lifted the overall figure. Economists forecast that retail sales rose 0.4 percent, according to a survey by FactSet. That would follow a 0.8 percent drop in January and 0.9 percent fall the previous month. Those sharp drops mostly ... (full story)