US retailers have tough October

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A number of America's largest retailers have reported poor sales figures for October, in the latest sign of weakening US consumer spending.

Limited Brands saw same-store sales, which exclude new shop openings, fall 6% from a year earlier, while those at Macy's dropped by 1.5%.

Although supermarket giant Wal-Mart posted a 0.4% rise in same-store sales, it was below market targets.

US consumer sentiment has been hit by housing market and credit woes.

Optimism in America's shopping malls has further been knocked by rising petrol prices.

Slowing wider economy

The disappointing October retail sales figures came as Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke warned that the US economy would slow noticeably before the end of the year.

Mr Bernanke said this slowdown had been caused by the credit crisis, which has made it harder for banks and individuals to borrow money.

The crisis was sparked by the downturn in the US housing market, and more specifically, record loan defaults in the sub-prime mortgage sector.

It spread to the wider banking sector, as a number of the largest US banks had repackaged and sold on this bad debt.

Other US retailers that reported poor October sales on Thursday were department store groups JC Penny and Nordstrom.

JC Penney's same store sales were down 1.8%, while Nordstrom's fell 2.4%.

The Commerce Department said earlier this month that US consumer spending slowed more than expected in September, growing by only 0.3%, down from 0.5% in August.