U.S. retail sales rose a better-than-expected 1.3% in November

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. retail sales rose a better-than-expected 1.3% in November, the third increase in the past four months, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. The sales gains were widespread across most kinds of retail outlets, including autos, gasoline, department stores and hardware stores. Only clothes and furniture store sales declined. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for retail sales to rise 0.5%. Excluding autos, sales rose 1.2%, the biggest gain since January. Wall Street had expected a increase of 0.4%. Excluding gasoline and autos, sales increased 0.6%.