NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. chain store sales rose during the first half of October, thanks to cooler weather that put consumers in the mood to buy winter clothing, two industry reports showed Tuesday.

Sales rose 1.5 percent in the two weeks ended Oct. 19 compared with the same period in September, Instinet Research said in its weekly Redbook report.

"Cooler weather and perhaps some catching up by consumers who had delayed fall shopping earlier in the season strengthened the sales growth," the report said.

Stores in the suburbs of Baltimore and Washington have been hurt by fears of a sniper who has killed several people in the area in recent weeks, Redbook said.

Separately, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg reported in their weekly report that sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge known as same-store sales, increased 2.9 percent for the week ended Oct. 19, compared with the same period a year ago. Last week's sales were also 0.6 percent higher than in the previous week.

However, BTM projected total October sales will show a sluggish 1.5-2 percent increase from a year ago, due mainly to a slow start at the beginning of the month.

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-- Reuters contributed to this report