- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
Higher gas prices boosted US retail sales in February
Rising costs for gasoline caused US retail sales to grow in February, according to government data released Wednesday, though the expansion was slightly below expectations.
Retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month, the Commerce Department said, less than January's 4.9 percent increase, which was revised up sharply from the 3.8 percent initially reported.
Much of February's spending increase was caused by business at gas stations, where sales rose 5.3 percent, the biggest gain in any category.
Without gas stations, retail sales would have fallen 0.2 percent.
"The current surge in non-discretionary inflation -- particularly food, energy and shelter -- will pressure households' budgets and lead them to pare back their discretionary purchases, while supply-chain issues will continue to constrain sales growth," Lydia Bossour of Oxford Economics said.
However, she forecast that sales should grow in the months to come thanks to rising wages and built up savings.
Several sectors saw business slow, including non-store retailers like e-commerce outlets, where sales fell 3.7 percent, health and personal care stores, with a decline of 1.8 percent, as well as furniture stores and grocery stores.
Auto dealers, which have been vulnerable in recent months as carmakers struggle with lean inventories due to the global semiconductor shortage that has hit production and driven prices higher, saw sales increase 0.9 percent.
Other sectors that saw growth last month include sporting goods and hobby stores, where sales rose 1.7 percent, and building material and garden equipment stores, where they rose 0.9 percent.
Business at department stores grew 1.6 percent, while bars, restaurants and other food service businesses rose 2.5 percent.
L.Torres--PC