Recent Updates
- Euro area: Flash Consumer Confidence (Oct), ECB Banking Lending Survey (Q4)
- US: Philadelphia Fed Nonmfg Business Outlook (Oct); Richmond Fed Mfg & Service Sector Surveys (Oct)
- Spain: Bank Lending Survey (Q4), International Trade Summary, Construction Permits (Aug)
- Macao: Visitor Arrivals (Sep)
- Singapore: Housing & Development Board Annual Report (2017)
- South Africa: Leading Indicators (Oct)
- Romania: Central Bank Balance Sheet, MFI Deposits,
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
FIBER: Industrial Commodity Prices Fall Further
The FIBER Industrial Materials Price Index declined 1.3% during the last four weeks...
Japan’s METI Sector Indexes Rebound But Still Lag
Japan's economy continues to fight for revival...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Continue to Weaken, Dragging Down Prices
The NAR reported that sales of existing homes during September declined 3.4% to 5.150 million...
Canadian Retail Sales Weaken As Inflation Slows
Canada's retail sales show relatively widespread deceleration...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Strengthen
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.5% (7.0% y/y) during September...
by Tom Moeller April 5, 2005
Chain store sales inched up 0.3% in the opening week of April and recovered a piece of the prior week's 1.0% drop according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey.
Sales began the month 0.2% below the March average which rose 1.1% versus the prior month. That gain followed a strong 1.0% rise in February.
During the last ten years there has been a 56% correlation between the y/y change in chain store sales and the change in non-auto retail sales less gasoline, as published by the US Census Department. Chain store sales correspond directly with roughly 14% of nonauto retail sales less gasoline.
The leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC fell 0.7% (-1.7% y/y) for the second consecutive weekly decline and pulled the measure 2.5% off its peak last year.
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) | 04/02/05 | 03/26/05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 451.5 | 450.2 | 4.4% | 4.6% | 2.9% | 3.6% |
