U.S. Retail Sales increased more than expected in February. According to the Commerce Department, consumers pushed sales higher by 0.3 percent, while sales excluding automobiles, rose 0.8 percent.

“There is slow re-engagement from consumers,” Ethan Harris, head of North America economics at Bank of America- Merrill Lynch Global Research in New York, said before the report. “As the economy slowly improves and the labor market stabilizes, people get a little less conservative in their spending.”