ICSC: Retail prices decline 1.1% last week

NEW YORK – Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year fell 1.1 percent last week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS Securities LLC report for the week ended Sept. 15, Bloomberg News said.
Compared with the same week of 2006, sales rose 2.9 percent, matching last week’s pace, as new clothing designs helped boost demand. “Some new merchandise lines seemingly are helping to lift consumer interest and demand at some stores,” wrote Michael Niemira, the ICSC’s chief economist.
For all of September, same-store sales may increase 2.5-percent the ICSC and UBS said in a statement today.
The International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York-based trade group, and investment bank UBS Securities LLC track same-store sales at about 60 chains that represent about 10 percent of U.S. retail sales. Additional information is available at www.icsc.org.