US chain store sales up 0.1 pct in week ended May 24 - BTM/UBSW 28.05.2003 14:26 Headlines
WASHINGTON (AFX) - Sales at US chain stores rose 0.1 pct on a seasonally
adjusted annual rate in the week ended May 24 compared with the previous week,
the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg reported in their Weekly Chain
Store Sales Snapshot.
This is the first, albeit slight, rise in sales since the week ended May 3.
Sales fell 0.1 pct in the previous week.
Year-on-year, sales rose 3.1 pct in the week, following a year-on-year rise
of 2.7 pct in the previous week.
BTM-UBSW said it now expects May sales "will post a gain of about 1.5
percent, in line with the last two-month and August-April trend."
"Sales of warm-weather goods benefited over the last week as the consumer
began to focus on the Memorial Day weekend (May 24-26) which often is thought of
as the traditional beginning of the summer season," BTM-UBSW said.
"Some heavy rainfall in the Northeast on Memorial Day weekend helped to
drive people to the malls and stores in lieu of outdoor activities," the firms
said.
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