July U.S. Retail Sales Up

New York City, Apreliminary report from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), released on Tuesday, says that July sales at U.S. retailers may have risen 3.1%, the largest gain in four months.

Back-to-school shopping and summer-clearance merchandise, as well as cooler temperatures, are thought to have sparked the increase.

Sales for the seven days ended Aug. 4 climbed 3.1% from a year ago, and slipped 0.3% from the previous week, the ICSC and investment bank UBS Securities said in a Tuesday statement.