U.S. retail sales flat in week

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. retail sales remained muted in the week ending Oct. 23 compared to the previous week, again due to unseasonably warm weather, a trade group said.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said warm weather slowed sales of fall items with sales week-to-week rising 0.3 percent and sales from the same week a year ago rising 1.9 percent.

The chain store sales index from a year ago was "sluggish," the group said. "Once again, warm seasonal weather curbed consumers' appetite for fall merchandise," the report said Tuesday.

Nationally, temperatures averaged 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the same week a year ago and 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above long-term historic averages, Weather Trends International said.

Falling gasoline prices left a bit more for consumers to spend in the week. Gas prices dropped to an average of $2.817 per gallon on Oct. 25, down from $2.834 per gallon a week earlier.