U.S. retail sales drop in week

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Retail sales in the United States declined in the week ending Nov. 22, the International Council of Shopping Centers-USB reported Tuesday.

Sales declined 0.9 percent for the week and dropped 0.8 percent from the same week a year ago, the report said.

A recent ICSC and Goldman Sachs survey showed "consumers were slow in gearing up for holiday shopping," the weekly report said.

"As such, shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and the subsequent weekend is an important opportunity for consumers to catch up," the report said.

At $1.892 per gallon on Monday, the average price of unleaded regular gasoline fell for the 10th consecutive week, a drop of $1.943 per gallon since Sept. 15.

"However, continuing to offset much of the benefit of those lower pump prices for spending is rising unemployment," ICSC reported.