WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) – U.S. retail sales in July were broadly in line with expectations, albeit slightly revised. According to the Ministry of Trade, in June they increased by a revised 0.8 (preliminary: 1.0) percent compared to the level of the previous month. Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent increase. According to the updated data, sales excluding the automotive sector increased by 0.4 percent, after growing by 0.9 (1.0) percent in June. Economists here only predicted stagnation.