Weekly Chain Store Sales Up 1%

New York, NY, November 7, 2006–Chain store sales rose 1%, for the week ended Nov. 4,, versed the prior week, according to a survey by the Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities released Tuesday.

Sales were up 2.3% from the year-ago period.

Traffic and spending was healthy, led by strength in the Midwest, ICSC said.

“We expect sales will grow by 3%, or slightly below that mark, since the real holiday spending will get underway in earnest during the post-Thanksgiving period,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s chief economist “Very little of that will end up in the current fiscal month, which ends on November 25.”