Retail sales dipped 0.3 percent in January, the weakest showing in five months, as a drop in demand for cars offset strength at clothing and department stores. Spending was powered mostly by consumers using holiday gift cards.

The Commerce Department reported that last month’s decline in retail sales followed a 1.1 percent surge in December. Both months were heavily influenced by a swing in activity at auto showrooms.

Excluding auto sales, retail sales rose 0.6 percent in January, twice what analysts had been expecting, after sales excluding autos had risen 0.3 percent in December.

*For more on this story,

read the full Reuters article

.