Retail Sales Rise in Early July

Washington, DC, July 15, 2008--Retail sales rose on a year-over-year basis in the week ending July 12, according to a weekly survey from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and UBS Securities.

The report showed a 2.2 percent increase. A Johnson Redbook retail survey recorded a 2.7 percent gain in the week.On a week-over-week basis, sales showed a 0.2% gain in the ICSC-UBS report following a 0.2 percent advance in the previous week.

"While sales posted a moderate increase this week, sales were led by spending at grocery stores, drug stores and discounters, while electronics, jewelry and furniture stores were softer," said Michael Niemira, chief economist at ICSC.