Weekly sales rise 4%

New York City A report released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs said U.S. chain-store sales this past week rose 3.7%, compared with retail sales of one year ago.

Comparable-store sales at the chains were flat from the previous week.

“Last week’s mild weather on both coasts gave consumers ‘spring fever’ and a reason to release some more of their pent-up demand which has been an underlying force over the last few weeks,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC director of research and chief economist.

“With the earlier Easter just two weeks away, the current uptick for the month of March should continue and as a result ICSC Research expects March sales will increase by 3% to 3.5%,” he added.