WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's mostly the increase in the price of gasoline, but figures released by a key data service show retail sales rose for a third month in a row in January, compared with a year earlier.
MasterCard Advisor's SpendingPulse offers an estimate of spending in all forms, including cash.
Including goods from food to clothing to gasoline - but excluding cars - U.S. retail sales rose 3.6 percent from January 2009.
According to SpendingPulse, that increase followed a 4.8 percent gain in December and a 2.1 percent gain in November.
A SpendingPulse official says spending is happening at a modest pace.
Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters predict the U.S. Department of Commerce's sales index due Thursday, which excludes autos but includes gasoline, will be up just 0.5 percent in January from December.
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