Retail sales improved 0.4% in January as sales excluding automobiles rose to a 10-month high, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

New home sales slipped 2.2% in December, the first decline in four months, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Existing home sales rose 5% for a third straight increase in December, reaching the highest level since January, the National Association of Realtors said.

Used-truck sales declined in November, the result of both a lack of supply and increasing buyer resistance to high prices, according to two trucking-industry research groups.

New home sales rose 1.6% in November to a seven-month high, the Commerce Department reported.

Existing home sales rose 4% in November to an annual rate of 4.42 million homes, but sales figures since 2007 were revised down, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Heavy-duty U.S. truck sales continued their robust expansion in November, jumping 77% from the same month in 2010 and surging past the 57.7% growth rate for the year’s first 11 months, according to a Dec. 12 report from WardsAuto.com.