Retail sales see small increase for September

WASHINGTON — Retail sales edged up slightly during the month of October, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Tuesday. Adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, sales totaled $397.7 billion. Retail trade sales rose 0.6% above September and 7.3% above the year-ago period. Adjusted grocery store sales increased to $46.8 million from $46.3 million in September, while health and personal care stores saw adjusted sales of $23.3 million from $23.1 million last month. Although advanced estimates for pharmacies and drug stores are not included in the report, the Census Bureau disclosed that adjusted