— Japan Aug Retail Sales -2.6% Y/Y Vs July +0.6%
— Japan Aug Retail Sales MNI Poll Median Forecast: -0.6%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese retail sales posted the first fall in three
months in August following rush buying of digital TVs in July, when
Japan terminated analogue broadcasting services, data from the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry released on Thursday showed.
Retail sales fell 2.6% in August from a year earlier following a
0.6% rise in the previous month, also because of continued slow demand
for passenger cars.
The August reading came in much weaker than the median forecast for
a 0.6% fall in a Market News International survey of economists.
In August, retail sales of automobiles fell 18.8% on year, posting
the 11th consecutive y/y drop, while sales of machinery and equipment
including consumer electronics tumbled 19.3%, marking the first fall in
four months.
Other details from the latest data:
Commercial sales, or combined sales at the wholesale and retail
levels (y/y): August +3.3%, a fourth straight y/y rise.
Sales at the wholesale level (y/y): August +5.6%, also a fourth
straight y/y rise.
Large retail store sales on a same-store adjusted basis (y/y):
August -2.6%, the first y/y fall in two months.
Large retail store sales, unadjusted (y/y): August -1.8%, the first
fall in three months.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
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