US retail sales rose 0.5% mom to USD 665.7B in March, slightly below expectation of 0.5% mom. Ex-auto sales rose 1.1% mom, above expectation of 0.7% mom. Ex-gasoline sales dropped -0.3% mom. Ex-auto, ex-gasoline sales rose 0.2% mom.
Total sales for January through March period were up 12.9% yoy.