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Economy in Brief
U.S. Gasoline & Crude Oil Prices Continue to Rise
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EMU Trade Surplus Expands on Weak Import Rise
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate increased to 4.8% during January...
by Tom Moeller February 21, 2007
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey indicated that chain store sales slipped for the third week in the last four. The 0.1% decline last week lowered sales so far this month to a level that is all of 0.1% ahead of January after the 2.8% gain that month.
During the last ten years there has been a 45% correlation between the y/y change in chain store sales and the change in nonauto retail sales less gasoline.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.
The leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC-UBS fell sharply for the third week in the last four, by 1.1% (-0.2% y/y).
| ICSC-UBS (SA, 1977=100) | 2/17/07 | 2/10/06 | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 478.1 | 478.7 | 3.5% | 3.3% | 3.6% | 4.7% |
