The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showed an unexpected increase in U.S. retail sales in the month of August.
The report showed retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in August following a revised 0.4 percent decrease in July.
Economists had expected retail sales to come in unchanged, matching the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding a rebound in auto sales, retail sales fell by 0.3 percent in August following a revised unchanged reading in July.
Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
