NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Bloomberg): Retail sales in the US probably fell in September as auto showrooms sat empty after the "cash for clunkers" programme expired, economists said before a report this week.

Purchases dropped 2.1 per cent, the biggest decrease this year, after rising 2.7 per cent in August, according to the median forecast of 56 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of Commerce Department figures due Oct. 14. Other reports may show inflation and factory production cooled last month.

Plunging auto sales in September are a sign household spending may not be sustained without government incentives as long as unemployment keeps climbing. The financial health of consumers, whose purchases make up the biggest part of the economy, will go a long way in determining when Federal Reserve policy makers raise interest rates again.