CSBJ Daily

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Consumers, battling soaring gasoline prices and a slumping economy, cut back further on their spending in April.

The Commerce Department reported today that retail sales dipped 0.2 percent last month, right in line with economists’ expectations.

It was the second drop in the past three months and was led by a 2.8 percent decline in auto sales, the biggest setback in this category in 10 months.

Excluding autos, retail sales rose by 0.5 percent, likely boosted by sales at discount store such as Wal-Mart.

However, sales at department stores were down 0.1 percent, indicating that tough economic times may be pushing people to seek out bargains at giant discount stores.

Despite the prospect of an economic recession, overall economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, has not yet turned negative.

The Bush administration is hoping that a $168 billion economic stimulus package, which includes about $100 billion in direct payments to households, will give the economy a jump-start. The government started making those payments at the end of April.