Chain Store Sales Up 0.2% Last Week

Washington, DC, March 22—-Chain store sales increased 0.2 percent last week, according to data released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS. The ICSC-UBS index is up 3.4 percent year-over-year for the third week in a row. "Customer traffic continued to remain healthy and is supporting spending," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist. ICSC expects March same-store sales to rise about 3.5 to 4 percent