US DATA: Adverse national weather and higher prices..

US DATA: Adverse national weather and higher gasoline prices
continue to hold down weekly retail sales as consumers pull back on
seasonal and discretionary spending once again. As a result, for the
week ending May 21, retailers saw weekly retail sales slip by 1.0
percent, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales
Index. On a year-over-year basis retail sales slowed by 3.1 percent.
“The wettest comparable week in ten years, combined with cooler
temperatures, negatively impacted spending on apparel and other seasonal
merchandise,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and
chief economist. See more on the MNI main wire.