'Experts' Confounded as Retail Sales Rise

Sure, the increase isn't much, but again we're left with alleged experts scratching their heads as despite a daily dose of nonstop gloom and doom, the U.S. economy manages to stay afloat.

Stunning, isn't it? I guess that Depression longed for by Charles Schumer hasn't quite engulfed us yet.

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.2 percent in March, pushed up by a jump in gasoline sales, a government report released on Monday showed.

Sales at gasoline stations rose 1.1 percent, the Commerce Department said. Excluding gasoline sales, retail sales were flat last month.

Gasoline prices hit records in March and have continued to rise since then, according to government data.

Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting retail sales to be unchanged from the previous month.

U.S. stock index futures moderated losses, U.S. Treasury debt prices reversed earlier gains, and the dollar rebounded from declines on the report, which was viewed as showing some consumer resilience despite an economy that appears to be contracting.

"I can't say the worst is over for the environment we're in, but it gives you a little bit of hope," said Steve Goldman, a market strategist for Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.