A benign retail sales environment in Australia is showing signs of life and retail sales in the U.S. have improved "enormously", Westfield Group (WDC.AU) executives said Wednesday.

The global shopping mall giant said sales from Australian specialty stores rose 4.4% in March and April compared to the same two-month period a year earlier. They jumped 7% in the U.S.

Conditions in the Australian retail sector have been relatively benign for some time, joint Chief Executive Steven Lowy said. "There seems to be an improving trend and Easter seemed to be a good period for the retailers," he told reporters.

Joint Chief Executive Peter Lowy said there is "definitely a recovery in process" in the U.S. "The retail industry is recovering, the economy is recovering," he said.

Westfield stuck to its annual profit guidance as the negative impact of a strong Australian dollar on offshore earnings is offset by lower interest rates in the U.S.

The company has no plans to report in a different currency, Chairman Frank Lowy said. "I don't think this is on the agenda," he told reporters.

"A decision to change currency would be a very big one, but if it will be necessary we will consider it."

-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4692; Ross.Kelly@dowjones.com

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