Retail sales rise a solid 0.5% in July from June helped by rebounding auto sales

Shoppers stepped up their spending in July, particularly at the nation’s auto dealerships

NEW YORK — Shoppers stepped up their spending in July, particularly at the nation’s auto dealerships.

Retail sales rose 0.5% last month, a slowdown from a revised 0.9% in June, according to the Commerce Department’s report released Friday.

The increases followed two consecutive months of spending declines — a 0.1% pullback in April and a 0.9% slowdown in May.

Excluding auto sales, w