— Japan Retail Sales Y/Y Gain Remains Largest In 13 Years
— Japan Apr Retail Auto Sales +19.5% Y/Y Vs Mar Revised +19.5%
— Japan Apr Retail Sales Also Pushed Up By Higher Fuel Prices

TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese retail sales surged 4.9% in April from a
year earlier, the fourth straight year-on-year increase, accelerating
from the 4.7% gain in March, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry released on Friday showed.

The increase was the largest in 13 years.

Higher fuel prices as well as continued solid sales of motor
vehicles boosted overall retail sales. Fuels sales rose for the fifth
consecutive month from year-earlier levels while auto sales posted the
11th straight y/y gain.

Retail sales have recovered from -5.7% in February 2009, which was
the largest y/y drop in seven years. In January this year, retail sales
rose 2.3%, posting the first y/y gain in 17 months.

The 4.9% rise in April 2010 was the largest gain since +12.4% in
March 1997, which was boosted by rush purchases before the sales tax
hike to 5% from 3% the following month.

Excluding this special factor, the March rise was the sharpest rise
since +4.7% in February 1992, when sales were pushed up by leap-year
effects.

The growth in April retail sales was led by increases in five out
of seven major categories: fuel (+23.1% y/y), motor vehicles (+19.5%),
machinery (+13.6%), clothing (+2.0%) and food and beverages (+1.5%).

Meanwhile, year-on-year declines were seen in sales at department
stores and supermarkets (-3.9%) as well as other retail sales (-1.5%).

The 23.1% rise in fuel sales in April was the fifth consecutive
month of y/y gains following revised +19.7% in March. The 9.0% rise in
December 2009 was first year-on-year gain in 15 months.

Fuel sales have recovered from the record y/y drop of -23.3% marked
in February 2009.

Retail gasoline prices in Japan have been on a general uptrend
since mid-January 2009.

In the week to May 24, the average price of regular gasoline in
Japan this week rose to Y139.6 ($1.55) per liter, or $5.89 per gallon,
from Y139.5 last week, posting the 12th weekly rise in a row.

It was much higher than the Y119.0 price of a year earlier and was
the highest since Y141.0 marked on Nov. 4, 2008.

Motor vehicle sales posted the 11th straight month of y/y gains as
demand for passenger cars continued to be supported by tax breaks and
subsidies for buying low-emission vehicles.

The 19.5% rise in auto sales in April was unchanged from a revised
+19.5% in March and accelerated from +14.8% in February, +13.1% in
January and +14.5% in December 2009, but was slower than +21.0% in
November 2009, which was the largest y/y gain since March 1997, when
vehicle sales were up 21.1%.

Sales of machinery and equipment gained 13.6% in April, marking the
eighth consecutive y/y gain after +13.1% in March, +8.7% in February and
+3.6% in January, thanks to the government’s reward program for
purchases of greener consumer electronics including flat-screen TVs and
refrigerators.

Other details from the latest data:

Commercial sales, or combined sales at the wholesale and retail
levels (y/y): April +3.8%, the second consecutive year-on-year rise,
following +2.4% in March and the record -24.3% marked in May 2009.

Sales at the wholesale level (y/y): April +3.4%, also up for the
second consecutive year-on-year gain, and accelerating from +1.5% in
March and recovering from the record -30.3% hit in May 2009.

Large retail store sales on a same-store adjusted basis (y/y):
April -3.6%, the 25th straight y/y drop, vs. March -4.9%.

Large retail store sales, unadjusted (y/y): April -3.0%, the 21th
consecutive y/y drop, vs. March -4.1%.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **

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