U.S. weekly retail sales up slightly

NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. retail chain store sales last week rose slightly, an industry group reported Tuesday.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said the week ending Jan. 7 saw sales up 0.1 percent. Year-over-year, the pace was up 3.7 percent.

"During the month of January, about 40 percent of gift cards are redeemed and that is exactly what consumers began to do this past week," said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.

"As a result, chain stores saw their sales rise slightly. For January, ICSC expects chain store sales to rise by 3 percent to 3.5 percent, on a year-over-year basis," Niemira added.