Economy Watch: Sales, Mortgages, and Gas

ICSC Retail Sales Data
The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported its chain-store sales index for the week ending on June 18, 2011 fell 0.7% from the week before, and was down 0.2% from the same period last year.

Shoppertrak Retail Sales Data
For the week ended June 18, 2011, ShopperTrak's National Retail Sales Estimate was $98.664 billion, up 8.6% from last week's $90.840 billion, and up 1.0% from the same week last year. As expected, Father's Day (June 19) sales provided a boost. Sales should decline this week, then pick up again in the week before July 4th weekend.

Mortgage Rates Flat
Bankrate.com reported that the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 4.66%, down from last week's 4.71%, according to its weekly national survey ending June 22, 2011. It also reported that the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.83%, down from 3.91% last week.

Gas Prices Down
The Energy Department announced that for week ending June 20, 2011, the average price of US gasoline fell to $3.652 a gallon, down from $3.713 per gallon week earlier.

Diesel prices remained at $3.95 last week.