WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is the commentary from the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released Tuesday:

The ICSC-Goldman Sachs chain store sales index for the week ending September 19 dipped by a hefty 2.0% from the prior week, but increased by 0.6% from the same week of the prior year. The week-over-week decline was the largest since January 10, 2009 (-2.3%). This mixed sales picture was affected by a host of crosscurrents. Week-on-week store traffic slowed, but inched up on a year-over-year basis. However, customer traffic was down sharply at department stores from the prior week and from the prior year, even as traffic was more mixed in other store types. In the latest week, department-store traffic also was the lowest since late April. Consumers may have enjoyed more time outdoors for the week rather than shopping as mild weather was present. According to Weather Trends International (WTI), "national temperatures were 2.1F warmer than last year," and 2.2F warmer than its long-term average. Meanwhile, gasoline prices edged back for the sixth-consecutive week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline was $2.552 for September 21, which was cumulatively 9.5 cents lower over the past six weeks and was off 31.4% for the week compared with the same period of 2008. As a consequence, gasoline-price deflation continues to build up consumer discretionary-purchasingpower potential.

September Sales Expectations

August 2009 U.S. comparable-store store sales declined by 2.0% from the same month of 2008, based on a tally compiled by the International Council of Shopping Centers. The August performance was considerably stronger than ICSC's expectations with somewhat stronger sales across many segments. An expected calendar shift added about 50 basis points to the year-over-year sales performance in August, according to ICSC estimates of the net impacts. Looking ahead, ICSC estimates that the Labor Day shift will benefit the industry by about 25 basis points in September. For September, ICSC Research expects sales less Wal-Mart will be down by about 2% from its year-ago level.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **