Rebounding automobile purchases and surging gasoline prices powered retail sales to a strong 1.1 percent gain in September, the government said Friday. That was the biggest advance in four months, but economists said the two special factors were masking an otherwise weak report, which included a large decline in department store sales. Sales figures are not adjusted to factor out price increases. Gasoline costs have shot up since Iraq occupied Kuwait Aug. 2, inflating that sales category. The recovery in auto sales was positive but came after months of deteriorating sales, analysts said. Overall, sales rose $1.6 billion to a seasonally adjusted $151.2 billion, the Commerce Department said. That followed a 0.4 percent decline in August. ``What is underscored by these numbers is that the process of economic decline is a very slow one. Consumers take two steps backward and then one step forward, at least if they're given a bargain as they were with autos,'' said economist David Jones of Aubrey G. Lanston & Co. Retail sales are an important barometer of economic health because they represent about one-third of the nation's economic activity. ``Consumers are gradually becoming increasingly cautious because they see the oil price s Forward 1346 1347 1360 1362 n.q.-not quoted.
