US retail sales excluding cars rose a modest 0.2 percent in July, as declining gasoline prices reined in overall sales growth, according to data from SpendingPulse released on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted gain equalled June's 0.2 percent increase, according to SpendingPulse, the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors, an arm of MasterCard Worldwide. "We are still growing but it's pretty modest," said Michael McNamara, SpendingPulse's vice president of research and analysis.