U.S. weekly retail sales up, slightly

NEW YORK, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. weekly retail sales rose 0.2 percent last week, an industry group said Wednesday.

The International Council of Shopping Centers also said that for the week ending Feb. 18 sales were 3.7 percent more than the year-earlier level.

"Over this past week, retail chain store sales improved due to a spurt of pent-up demand," said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research. "For February, ICSC continues to expect industry same-store sales to rise by approximately 3 percent, on a year-over-year basis," Niemira added.