WASHINGTON — The 90-day moving average worldwide semiconductor sales slid 1.3% sequentially in February, obscuring a 1.1% climb in the Americas region.

Global sales fell 7.3% from last year to $22.9 billion in February, the Semiconductor Industry Association said today.

“It’s encouraging to see that the U.S. posted the third consecutive month of job gains which points to momentum in the US economic recovery," said Brian Toohey, president, SIA. “However, the global picture bears close watching given the continued sluggish economies in Europe and in Asia. Overall, the combination of improved US macroeconomic factors along with sequential semiconductor sales growth in the Americas region warrants an optimistic view for growth in 2012.”

For the month, Europe fell 1.9% to $2.71 billion, Japan 1.8% to $3.38 billion and Asia-Pacific 1.8% to $12.43 billion. The Americas rose 1.1% to $4.3 billion.

Year-over-year, the Americas are down 5.4%, Europe is off 16.4%, Japan has slid 6.1% and Asia-Pacific has dropped 6%.

The SIA charts are here.

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