RTTNews reports that according to the data from the Commerce Department, after reporting a substantial increase in U.S. retail sales in the previous month, retail sales pulled back by much more than anticipated in the month of February.

Retail sales plunged by 3.0 percent in February after soaring by an upwardly revised 7.6 percent in January.

Economists had expected retail sales to dip by 0.5 percent compared to the 5.3 percent spike originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a steep drop in auto sales, retail sales still tumbled by 2.7 percent in February after surging up by 8.3 percent in January. Ex-auto sales were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent.