June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at Macy's Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and other U.S. retailers fell in May as shoppers curbed purchases due to higher gasoline prices and a sluggish housing market.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said U.S. sales at stores open at least a year gained 1.1 percent, on the low end of its forecast for a 1 percent to 2 percent advance. Saks Inc. and other luxury retailers posted results that beat analysts' estimates.
U.S. retail sales from February through May rose at about half the pace from a year earlier as consumers reined in purchases of non-essential items such as clothing and home furnishings. The slowdown may continue into June, according to Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.
``The longer-term story of this slower-growth pace is largely a story tied directly or indirectly to the housing market,'' said Niemira.
While Macy's and J.C. Penney showed a sales drop, the ICSC said same-store sales at 50 U.S. retail chains rose a combined 2.5 percent last month. That's down from an increase of 4.5 percent in May 2006. Same-store sales are an industry benchmark because they exclude results from new or closed stores.
Shares Drop
Macy's shares fell 60 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $38.90 as of 11:52 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. J.C. Penney lost $3.03, or 3.7 percent, to $78.16 for the biggest drop since July 2006. Wal-Mart slipped 66 cents to $50.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Retailing Index declined 1.1 percent.
Limited Brands Inc. and Kohl's Corp. were among retailers' whose gains beat analysts' estimates as the warmest May in six years spurred sales of shorts, bathing suits and other lightweight clothing.
The national average pump price for regular gasoline reached a high of $3.227 a gallon on May 23. Gasoline has climbed about 11 percent since last year.
U.S. sales of previously owned homes dropped in April to the lowest level in almost four years, the National Association of Realtors said May 25. The median price of an existing home fell 0.8 percent last month to $220,900.
Consumer Spending
With lower home prices and higher interest rates, people find it harder to extract equity from their properties. That may contribute to a slowdown in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, economists have said.
``The American consumer is not aggressively shopping right now as they are shut in with further worries,'' said Eric Beder, an analyst at Brean Murray Carret & Co. in New York.
The drop of 3.3 percent in same-store sales at Macy's, the second-largest U.S. department-store chain, trailed analysts' estimates for a decline of 1.4 percent, according to data from Retail Metrics LLC. Macy's was formerly called Federated Department Stores Inc.
J.C. Penney, the third-largest department-store chain, reported a sales drop of 2 percent. Analysts projected a gain of 0.1 percent, while the company forecast unchanged sales. Home goods, fine jewelry and women's accessories hurt results, J.C. Penney said.
Wal-Mart said demand for holiday barbecue and lawn-and- garden goods lifted purchases.
Consumers' ``worries about gas prices have increased from January through April,'' Wal-Mart said today in a statement. The company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, predicted June same- store sales will be unchanged or gain as much as 2 percent.
Saks, Luxury Retailers
Luxury retailers' outperformed. Saks said sales jumped 38 percent. Analysts projected a 14 percent gain. Its shares surged $1.13, or 5.9 percent, to $20.15 for the biggest advance since October 2005.
May sales at Nordstrom Inc. gained 6.3 percent. Analysts predicted an increase of 2.8 percent. Neiman Marcus Group Inc.'s sales rose 6.6 percent.
Dillard's Inc., a department-store chain that operates mostly in southern U.S. states, reported a same-store sales decline of 2 percent, trailing the estimate for a drop of 1.6 percent. AnnTaylor Stores Corp., a clothes retailer geared at women ages 25 to 55, said sales last month fell 4.6 percent, worse than the estimate for a 2.9 percent drop.
Exceeding Estimates
Some retailers beat analyst estimates. Limited, the owner of the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain, said sales rose 2 percent, exceeding the estimate for a drop of 1.7 percent, according to data compiled by Retail Metrics, a research firm based in Swampscott, Massachusetts.
Kohl's, the fourth-largest U.S. department-store company, said same-store sales increased 10.5 percent, exceeding the 5.9 percent prediction.
Gap Inc., the largest U.S. clothing retailer, reported a drop of 3 percent in same-store sales, exceeding the analysts' estimate for a decline of 4 percent. Chico's FAS Inc., a women's clothing retailer, also surpassed forecasts.
Temperatures last month helped apparel sales. The average temperature in the 96 largest metropolitan areas was 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius), the warmest since 2001, according to weather consulting firm Planalytics Inc.
Costco Beats
Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. warehouse club, said May same-store sales gained 7 percent, exceeding an estimate for an increase of 5.7 percent.
U.S. retail sales for the four months through May climbed 2.2 percent, about half the 4.1 percent gain in the comparable period in 2006, according to the ICSC's Niemira.
Spending rebounded from April, when retailers reported a decline of 1.9 percent, the biggest on record, ICSC said. An earlier Easter than in 2006 shifted purchases for the season into March and the coldest April in a decade crimped sales of warm-weather clothing.
U.S. retailers may report June sales results on July 12. ICSC predicts sales will increase 2 percent to 2.5 percent this month, a slowdown from a rise of 3 percent a year earlier.
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