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Costco August same-store sales up 9%, helped by gas-price rise
Costco Aug. same-store sales up 9%, total up 12%
By MarketWatch
Last update: 3:51 a.m. EDT Sept. 3, 2008
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported that for August, comparable-store sales rose 9%, and total sales rose 12% to $5.41 billion from $4.84 billion in the year-earlier period.
Same-store sales, which reflect outlets open at least a year to eliminate the effects of new and closed stores, rose 9% in the U.S. and 6% internationally, the Issaquah, Wash., warehouse retailer
( COST : costco whsl corp new com
Last: 68.26 +1.20 +1.79% 4:00pm 09/02/2008 
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COST 68.26 , +1.20 , +1.8% ) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Excluding the effect of gasoline-price inflation -- gas at Costco cost 40% more this past August than it did in August 2007 -- U.S. same-store sales rose 6%.
In addition, currency fluctuations hit international sales. On a local-currency basis, August overseas same-store sales rose 8%.
For the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, Costco reported sales of $22.6 billion, up 12% from $20.09 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced a consensus estimate of $22.91 billion of sales for the quarter.
$68.6 (06/13/08)
