Sales at U.S. retailers barely rose in November, but the weakness stemmed mostly from the biggest drop in sales at auto dealers in eight months. Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in November, below the 0.3% forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch. Sales growth in October was also lowered a bit, revised government figures show. Despite slower sales last month, most retailers have beefed up staff in anticipation of more robust holiday sales. Other areas of the U.S. economy have also shown steady growth in the waning stages of 2016, setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates on Wednesday as they are widely expected to do at 2 p.m. Eastern. By and large, most retailers reported improved results last month. Sales of home furnishings, groceries and gasoline led the way while restaurants saw especially strong foot traffic. Restaurant sales shot up 0.8% to register the biggest gain since February. Yet weaker sales at auto showrooms and traditional department stores were a drag. Auto dealers have resorted to deeper discounts to lure customers as demand levels off after years of surging sales. Showroom revenue fell 0.5% in November, the government said. Auto purchases account for about 20% of all retail spending. If they are excluded, U.S. retail sales rose a somewhat stronger 0.2%. Department stores, meanwhile, have been losing ground for years to online retailers. Sales slipped 0.2% in November and they are down 6.4% in the past 12 months. Internet retailers, for their part, only saw a 0.1% uptick in sales last month. But sales have leapt nearly 12% in the past 12 months. In October, sales grew a bit slower at 0.6% reduced from an earlier estimate of 0.8%. U.S. stock markets ticked somewhat lower after the economic data were released, with futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ6, -0.12% DJIA, +0.58% and those for the S&P 500 index ESZ6, -0.14% SPX, +0.65% adding to modest early losses.

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