US retailers have reported their biggest surge in sales since September 2012, arresting a sell-off on Wall Street and providing more evidence that the world’s largest economy is breaking out of a slowdown caused by harsh winter weather.

美国零售商报出自2012年9月以来最大销售增幅，止住了华尔街的资产价格暴跌，并进一步证实世界最大经济体正在走出严冬天气造成的增长放缓。

Retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.1 per cent from February to March compared with economist expectations of a 0.8 per cent increase, suggesting weakness in the US economy really was due to bad weather that was masking strong underlying growth.

经季节调整后的3月零售额环比增长1.1%，高于经济学家预测的0.8%，似乎表明美国经济的疲弱表现源于恶劣天气掩盖了强劲的根本增长。

“US consumers are back in the game after the weather-induced slump in spending,” said Millan Mulraine at TD Securities in New York.

道明证券(TD Securities)驻纽约的穆连恩(Millan Mulraine)表示：“在这场天气导致的消费剧减之后，美国消费者又开始花钱了。”

Car sales were especially strong, up by 3.1 per cent, as more seasonable weather patterns prompted consumers to look for a new vehicle, while clothing sales were up by 1 per cent and restaurant sales were 1.1 per cent higher.

汽车销售增长尤为强劲，增幅达到3.1%，因为更宜人的天气促使消费者选购新车。与此同时，服装销售额增长了1%，餐饮业销售额也增长了1.1%。

The bounce in retail sales will reinforce the US Federal Reserve’s optimistic outlook for growth this year and means it is likely continue to scale back or “taper” its asset purchases, which are now $55bn a month.

零售业绩反弹将增强美联储(Fed)对今年增长的乐观估计，这意味着这家美国央行可能继续缩减资产购买。美联储眼下的资产购买规模为每月550亿美元。

The figures led many analysts to upgrade their estimates for consumption in the first quarter of 2014, although the weakness in January and February means it is still likely to be a weak quarter for growth.

数据促使许多分析师调高了对2014年一季度消费的预测，不过1月和2月的疲软意味着一季度整体而言增长仍将疲弱。

Ted Wieseman, at Morgan Stanley in New York, said: “We now see first-quarter GDP rising 1.2 per cent instead of 1.1 per cent and see the second quarter on pace for an acceleration to around 3.5 per cent.”

摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)驻纽约的特德•威斯曼(Ted Wieseman)表示：“我们眼下预计一季度国内生产总值(GDP)将增长1.2%，而不是1.1%，二季度GDP增长将加速至3.5%左右。”

The Wall Street rebound was led by technology stocks, which have been subject to a sharp sell-off amid concerns that the sector is overheating.

科技股领头带动华尔街资产价格反弹。近期该板块因投资者担心过热而出现一轮暴跌。

The S&P 500 rose 1 per cent by midday in New York, helping to offset some of last week’s 2.6 per cent slide, which was the market’s biggest weekly decline since June 2012. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.2 per cent and the biotech index jumped 1.8 per cent.

标普500指数(S&P 500)昨日纽约午盘上涨1%，部分抵消上周2.6%的跌幅。该指数上周创下自2012年6月以来最大单周跌幅。纳斯达克综合指数(Nasdaq Composite)上涨1.2%，纳斯达克生物技术指数也大涨1.8%。

Given continued weakness in the eurozone and a slowdown in China, robust US growth is essential to the prospects of the world economy this year.

鉴于欧元区经济仍然疲弱、中国经济增长持续放缓，美国的强劲增长对今年世界经济前景非常关键。

Thomas Feltmate, an economist at TD Bank in Toronto, said: “With the labour market continuing to heal, the housing recovery well under way and household finances in their best shape for years, consumer spending should guide the ship from here.”

道明银行(TD Bank)驻多伦多经济学家托马斯•费尔特马特(Thomas Feltmate)表示：“劳动力市场仍在恢复，房价复苏迹象明显，家庭财务也处于多年来最佳状态，从现在开始，消费者支出应该会引领经济走出低迷。”