Retail sales rise for sixth month in December

WASHINGTON - Retail sales rose for a sixth consecutive month in December, helped by big gains in sales of autos and furniture. The increases helped lift sales activity for the year by the largest amount in more than a decade.

The Commerce Department says sales rose 0.6 percent last month to a level of $381 billion. The gain boosted retail sales 13.5 percent above the recession low hit in December 2008.

The string of increases pushed sales for all of 2010 up by 6.7 percent, the largest annual increase since 1999.

Gains in retail sales are a sign that consumers, who fuel 70 percent of economic activity, are spending more money. Economists point to the trend as a sign that economic growth will be strong this year.