
U.S. Chain Store Sales Rise Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Consumer spending recently has taken a firmer stance. Despite the news of weaker sales of light motor vehicle sales last month, chain store sales moved to a firmer footing. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers- [...]
Consumer spending recently has taken a firmer stance. Despite the news of weaker sales of light motor vehicle sales last month, chain store sales moved to a firmer footing. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Index store sales rose 0.7% last week and made up the decline of the prior period. The news for the full-month, however, is more encouraging. Added to increases early in the month, chain store sales for all of April rose 1.4% from the March average following that month's tepid 0.3% uptick.
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.
Moreover, the outlook for sales continued cautiously optimistic. The leading indicator of sales has been moving sideways since early February. While still negative, the year-to-year change has improved to a negative 2.0%, up from the 6% rate of decline last Fall.
A Minsky Meltdown: Lessons for Central Bankers from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco can be found here.
ICSC-UBS (SA, 1977=100) | 05/02/09 | 04/25/09 | Y/Y | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 491.3 | 488.0 | -0.8% | 1.4% | 2.8% | 3.3% |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.