Retail Sales Rose More Than Forecast In October

By Mark Memmott

Published November 15, 2011 at 7:40 AM CST

Two new economic indicators:

-- Sales in the retail and food sectors rose 0.5 percent in October from September, the Census Bureau says. They were up 7.2 percent from October 2010.

Bloomberg News says the increase in retail sales was "more than projected as Americans snapped up new Apple Inc. iPhones and demand for automobiles improved."

-- Wholesale prices "declined 0.3 percent in October" from September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The major factor: A 1.4 percent drop in energy costs. Over the past year, BLS added, wholesale prices have risen 5.9 percent.

Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

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