New York, NY, July 18, 2006--Chain store retail sales fell 0.6 percent in the latest week as warmer-than-normal weather and high gasoline prices kept shoppers at home, a retail report said on Tuesday.
Sales slipped 0.6 percent in the week ended July 15, compared with a 0.2 percent rise the previous week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS said in a joint report.
Compared with the same week a year ago, sales were running 2.0 percent higher, against a 3.0 percent increase in the prior week. The year-over-year sale gain was the smallest in nearly a year-and-a-half when it was 1.8 percent in the week ended Feb 19, 2005.
The ICSC-UBS Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is compiled from a group of major discount, department and chain stores across the country that report their weekly results.
