The Commerce Department announced its monthly sales numbers Tuesday, signaling a slow start for the summer months.

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for June were $439.9 billion, an increase of 0.2% from the previous month and 4.3% above June 2013.

Retail and food services sales, excluding automobiles, in June were $351.9 billion, an increase of 0.4% from the prior month and 3.7% higher than one year earlier.

For 2014 overall, total sales were up 3.6% from 2013. Excluding autos, retail sales increased 2.6% in 2014.

While the rise was lower than expected, it marks the fifth-consecutive month for increases since the start of the year.

• Prev
• Next