INSTANT VIEW: Key points and reaction to retail sales

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Total sales at U.S. retailers weakened modestly in April, the government reported on Tuesday, but outside the hard-pressed auto sector they showed more resiliency than many analysts had anticipated.

KEY POINTS: * The Commerce Department said overall retail sales declined 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted $378.1 billion, after a 0.2 percent rise in March. That was slightly more than the 0.1 percent decrease that economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast for sales in April. * But excluding autos, April sales were up 0.5 percent after a 0.4 percent March pickup - significantly better than the 0.2 percent sales increase that had been anticipated. * The Federal Reserve has cut official interest rates 3-1/4 percentage points to 2 percent since last September to shield the economy from a credit crunch sparked by the housing crisis, hoping to keep consumers from choking off spending that fuels two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. * In April, sales of building materials gained 1.9 percent, more than reversing March's 1.5 percent fall. General merchandise store sales were up 0.5 percent, well ahead of March's 0.1 percent rise.

COMMENTS:

ROBERT MACINTOSH, CHIEF ECONOMIST, EATON VANCE CORP,

BOSTON:

"The retail sales number is pretty much what people thought. They thought it would be off a little bit for the month. The key here is ex-autos and gas, the number was up a fair amount. So net , I think it's a report that tells you the economy is very weak, but if we are in a recession it's going to be a real short one."

IAN SHEPHERDSON, CHIEF U.S. ECONOMIST, HIGH FREQUENCY

ECONOMICS, VALHALLA, NEW YORK: