Recent Updates
- Korea: Import & Export Price Indexes (May)
- Spain: *SPAIN SPPI REBASED FROM 2010=100 TO 2015=100
- Spain: Services Price Indexes (Q1)
- Germany: State CPI: Saxony-Anhalt (May-Press)
- UK: LSL ACAD House Price Indexes, Visa Expenditure Index (May)
- Sweden: Securities Statistics (May); Finland: Government Finance (May); Iceland: HICP (May)
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Economy in Brief
Japan's Loses Its Trade Surplus
In May, Japan has logged its second trade deficit in 13 months and only its third in the last 28 months...
U.S. Industrial Production Slips Unexpectedly
The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production eased 0.1% (+3.5% y/y) during May...
Empire State Manufacturing Index Continues to Strengthen
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions rose to 25.0 during June, the highest level in eight months...
EMU Trade Deficit Shrinks
The EMU trade balance shrank in April, stepping back to a surplus of 18.1 bln euros from 19.8 bln euros in March....
U.S. Retail Sales Strengthen
Consumers were in a shopping mood last month...
by Tom Moeller March 15, 2005
Chain store sales last week recovered all of the prior week's decline with a 0.6% increase according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey.
Sales so far in March are 1.1% ahead of the February average which rose 1.0% from January.
During the last ten years there has been a 59% correlation between y/y change in chain store sales and the change in non-auto retail sales less gasoline, as published by the US Census Department.
The leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC inched up 0.3% in the latest week (0.2% y/y). The indicator's February average rose 0.4% following a 0.6% January decline.
The ICSC-UBS retail chain-store sales index is constructed using the same-store sales (stores open for one year) reported by 78 stores of seven retailers: Dayton Hudson, Federated, Kmart, May, J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart.
| ICSC-UBS (SA, 1977=100) | 03/12/05 | 03/05/05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 453.6 | 450.8 | 3.4% | 4.6% | 2.9% | 3.6% |
