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美国零售业绩令人鼓舞

American consumers may be feeling better about the economy. The Commerce Department says overall retail¹ spending exceeded expectations in September as consumers spent more on electronics goods and cars. A recent string of positive data bodes² well for the all-important holiday shopping season.

美国消费者可能对经济开始感到乐观。美国商业部说，9月份零售总额超过预期，消费者花在购买电器和汽车上的钱增加了。一系列正面数据给即将来临的节日购物季节带来好兆头。

An improving job picture, better than expected earnings³ on Wall Street and signs of recovery in the troubled housing market are helping⁴ to lift American consumer confidence.

就业率提高，华尔街股市业绩超过预期，房地产开始复苏，这些都提高了美国消费者的信心。

Many opened their wallets in September, boosting retail sales 1.1 percent -- and giving retailers⁵ an early start on the holiday shopping season.

9月份，很多人开始掏出钱包，使得零售业绩上升了百分之1.1，让零售商提前进入节日购物季节。

Economist⁶ Cary Leahey says electronics led gains, with the launch of Apple's newest iPhone lifting sales in that sector⁷ - 4.5 percent.

经济学家卡里·黎赫说，电子业是零售业上升的龙头，苹果推出的最新iPhone使得电子产品零售业绩提高了百分之4.5。

"I've even seen people say out loud Christmas came early, I bought myself an iPhone. So I think Christmas has come early, and it's off to a very good start," Leahey said.

他说：“我甚至听到有人大声说，圣诞节提前来了。我给自己买了一个iPhone，所以我也认为圣诞节提前来了，这是一个好开端。”

Higher gasoline prices also contributed to the increase in consumer spending - which accounts for nearly two thirds of the US economy. Americans also bought more cars and spent more money on food and drinks.

汽油价格上涨也是消费者支出增加的一个原因，消费者支出占美国经济的将近3分之2。美国人购买汽车的数量增加了，同时花在吃喝上的钱也提高了。

That could prompt companies to restock store shelves at a faster rate ahead of November's Black Friday - a day that traditionally marks the start of the holiday shopping season.

这些因素都可能促使零售商在11月黑色星期五之前提高进货的频率。传统上，美国人把黑色星期五看作是节日购物季节的开始。

And this year, Retail Strategist Clementine Illanes says companies are paying greater attention to customer preferences.

零售战略专家克莱门汀·伊利亚内斯说，今年零售商非常注意消费者喜欢什么。

"They are getting better at really understanding their customers. So really mining data, looking at analytics (statistical analysis) to be able to target their customers much more uniquely depending on what that specific customer is actually looking for," Illanes said.

他说：“他们越来越了解消费者，他们挖掘数据，分析数据，根据特定顾客想要的什么，来更加有针对性地寻找市场。”

But while the economic data is encouraging, Hong Kong investor⁸ Jackson Wong says it's too early to make assumptions.

虽然经济数据很令人鼓舞，可是香港投资家杰克逊·王说，现在下结论为时过早。

"One-month data doesn't indicate too strongly. However when we look at export data from China was increasing and the U.S. data - retail sales data-- was increasing, that means the economy activities are picking up," Wong said.

他说：“一个月的数据不是很强的指标，只有当我们看到中国出口增加，美国零售额也增加，这才说明经济开始好转。”

The increase in retail spending has prompted some economists⁹ to revise growth estimates from 1.6 to 2 percent in the third quarter. Some say sales of the new iPhone 5 alone could add one third of one percent to U.S. gross domestic product from July to September.

零售业绩上升促使部分经济学家重新估计第三季度的经济增长，把增长率从百分之1.6提高到百分之2。有人说，仅仅是新的iPhone 5 就可能让美国7月到9月的国内生产总值增加百分之0.3。