Hot Weather Keeps June Retail Sales Up

Sultry weather throughout the United States kept sales at retail stores clipping along in June even as results were mixed in the latest week, suggesting that consumer spending is not withering during the summer, two reports said.

Instinet Research said its Redbook Retail Sales Average rose 1.8% in four of the five weeks of June from the same period last year.

And though another measure from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg showed sales slipped 0.9% for the week ended June 29 compared with the previous week, the drop came after three weeks of strong gains.