Lower gasoline prices helped raise spending at chain stores. Last week, the retail average price of regular gasoline in the U.S. fell 12 cents for the second consecutive week to $2.48 per gallon (+21.9 y/y). Since the early September peak of $3.07, retail prices are down 19.2% and a 12 cent decline in yesterday's spot market price for gasoline suggests another drop this week.

With a 0.4% rise at the end of October, chain store sales rose for the fifth time in the last six weeks according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS survey. The gains were enough to pull the month's average sales level up 0.1% from September which fell 1.7% from August.

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 non-auto retail sales less gasoline.

The leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC was unchanged w/w during the latest week (-2.2% y/y) following a 0.9% spurt the prior week.

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.

Oil Price Shocks and Inflation from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is available here.