U.S. retail sales dropped by a larger-than-expected 2.1 percent in August, the sharpest drop in almost four years, after car purchases collapsed from July's near-record level, government data showed on Wednesday.

Sales excluding autos were buoyed by high gasoline prices, however, climbing a stronger-than-expected 1.0 percent.

The Commerce Department said it could not quantify the impact of Hurricane Katrina but said it would ...   more »