Retail sales drop during week

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Retail sales in the United States declined slightly last week, the International Council of Shopping Centers-USB reported Tuesday.

Sales were down 0.2 percent "as turmoil on Wall Street intensified," the report said.

Sales were up 1.1 per cent from a year ago, however.

Traffic in stores was up overall, notably in wholesale clubs, grocery stores and electronics and specialty stores, the report said. Traffic lowered in department, discount and dollar stores, ICSC reported.

As of Monday, the average price of gasoline was down 8.6 cents for the week at $3.632 per gallon. Despite the fall, the price of gasoline was 30.3 percent higher than a year ago, the report noted.