August retail sales increased 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted over July and increased 5 percent year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation. The numbers exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants.
The three-month moving average was also up 4.9 percent over the same period a year ago. The August results build on improvement seen in July, which was up 0.4 percent monthly from June and 4.9 percent year-over-year.