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Economy in Brief
Kansas City Federal Reserve Factory Index Hits Record High
The Kansas City Fed reported that its index of regional manufacturing sector business activity surged to a record 26...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Decline Sharply
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell sharply to 209,000 (-17.1% y/y)...
German Confidence Flattens and Falters
German confidence for May is mooted at a 97.8% queue percentile standing...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Are Little Changed; Rates Remain High
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Volume Index eased 0.2% last week (-1.9% y/y)...
Japan Shows Very Moderate Growth As Trade War Clouds Gather
Japan’s sector indexes showed a solid gain in February...
by Tom Moeller April 2, 2013
The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported that chain store sales surged 4.7% last week (2.3% y/y) to the highest level on record. The gain pulled March sales 2.6% above the February average which ticked up 0.1% from January. During the last ten years there has been a 61% correlation between the y/y change in chain store sales and the change in retail sales at general merchandise stores. That correlation recently has declined.
General merchandise store sales account for 15% of total retail sales. The ICSC-Goldman Sachs 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 chain store figures can be found in Haver's SURVEYW database.
| ICSC-Goldman Sachs (SA, 1977=100) | 03/30/13 | 03/23/13 | 03/16/13 | Y/Y | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 559.3 | 534.1 | 543.5 | 1.9% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| W/W % | 4.7 | -1.7 | 1.4 | -- | -- | -- |
