WASHINGTON—Wall Street on Tuesday will see if higher food and gasoline prices continued to blunt the buying power of American shoppers.
The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS Index and the Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index release retail data for the third week of April at 7:45 a.m. and 8:55 a.m. EDT, respectively. There is no consensus estimate available.
The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index, which monitors 9,000 retail units, showed same-store sales rose 1.7 percent for the week ended April 19, compared with the year-ago period.
The ICSC-UBS Index, which tracks 53 stores, reported that same-store sales fell 0.7 percent for the week ended April 19. Same-store sales edged up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.
Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.
Rising gasoline prices last week siphoned off more of consumers' overall spending, said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist.
The national average price of gallon of gas rose 4 cents overnight, to $3.603 a gallon Monday, or nearly 22.5 percent above the same period last year, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
Despite the weekly sales decline, Niemira projects monthly same-store sales will increase by 1.5 percent to 2 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Redbook analyst Catlin Levis noted retailer's sluggish performance was due in part to a lack of desire by consumers to shop and cool weather, which dampened demand for spring goods.
However, sales at discount stores, like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., were lifted by purchases of food and basic household supplies, added Levis.
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