U.S. retail sales increase in line with expectations

U.S. retail sales rose a modest

0.3 percent in January, a slight improvement over December, as warm weather boosted sales at hardware stores and furniture stores.

The Commerce Department said Friday that the January advance followed a 0.2 percent rise in sales in December.

The slight January gain was in line with expectations.

For January, auto sales edged up a slight 0.2 percent, rebounding from a 1.7 percent plunge in December.