Economy Watch: Sales, Mortgage, 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 August 6, 2011 posted a decline of 0.5% from the previous week. Analysts asserted exceptionally hot weather limited shopping.

ShopperTrak Retail Sales Data
For the week ended August 8, 2011, ShopperTrak's National Retail Sales Estimate rose 2.0% to $93.419 billion from the week before of $91.567 billion, but was down 2.8% from the same period last year. Back-to-School led the increase, especially since several states held tax-free days. Historically, the week that ends August 15 is the best sales week in the Back to School season.

Mortgage Rates Plummet
Bankrate.com reported that the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 4.54% from last week's 4.74%, according to its weekly national survey ending August 4, 2011. It also reported that the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 3.68% from 3.83% last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported mortgage applications were up 7.1% compared to one week earlier, with 70.1% of mortgage loans going toward refinancing rather than home purchases.

Gas Prices Down
The Energy Department announced that for week ending August 8, 2011, the average price of US gasoline fell to $3.674 a gallon from $3.711 per gallon week earlier.

Diesel prices fell to $3.94 from $3.95 last week.

Oil prices plummeted to just over $80 per barrel as nervous speculators dumped oil on fears of a double dip recession in the US and mounting sovereign debt problems in Europe.