NEW YORK (Reuters) - US specialty apparel retailers have experienced slow sales growth over the first 20 days of the holiday shopping season, according to data released yesterday by SpendingPulse.

The figures, from the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors, offer an early glimpse of how consumer spending is holding up this season, as consumers grapple with the US housing slump, rising food and fuel costs and tighter credit.

SpendingPulse said that over the first 20 days of the holiday shopping season, sales at US specialty apparel chains, which include Gap, Aeropostale and Urban Outfitters, rose a modest 0.5 percent this year, compared with a 5.1 percent increase last year.