Chain-store sales in the USA increased slightly in the week ending the 4th of July, rising 0.1% in shop compared to the week before, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers on the 7th of July.

The index measuring these sales climbed to 493.8 points against 493.4 points the previous week, during which it had registered its strongest increase since the end of January (+1.6%), stated the ICSC in a press release.

Year-on-year weekly sales have progressed by 0.5%, after having increased by 0.6% one weak earlier.

“Sales in the sector have been unequal in June, the first half the month having been weaker than the second,” commented the economist in chief of the ICSC, Michael Niemira, in this publication.

The professional organization now estimates that chain-store sales in June (excluding Wal-Mart, the leading global distributor, which has stopped publishing its monthly sales figures) decreased by around 4.5% year-on-year, following a drop of 4.6% in May.

By Jonathan Fulwell (Source: AFP)