Chain store sales rise 2.9%

New York City A report released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs found that weekly chain store sales in the United States rose 2.9% this past week.

However, sales inched lower from the previous week by 2.5% and ICSC blamed the drop on frigid weather, at least for May, in many parts of the nation.

"Spring goods were adversely impacted by a bout of unfavorable weather during the week -- which, according to Weather Trends International, had the coldest national conditions in more than 18 years," said Michael Niemira, ICSC director of research and chief economist. "Despite this past week and another calendar quirk to deal with for the May fiscal month, the underlying pace of demand continues to be healthy. For the month of May, ICSC Research expects sales will increase by approximately 3.5%."