— Japan Dec Retail Sales +2.5% Y/Y; Nov -2.2%; MNI F’cast +2.0%
— Japan Dec Retail Sales Post 1st Y/Y Rise In 2 Months
— Japan Dec Retail Car Sales +14.9% Y/Y Vs Nov +19.8%
— Japan Dec Retail Machinery Sales -9.9% Y/Y; Nov -51.9%

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s December retail sales posted the first
year-on-year rise in two months, up sharply by 2.5%, as cold weather
boosted demand for winter clothing and fuel, data from the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry released Friday showed.

Sales growth was also attributable to a continued recovery in sales
of automobiles following a sharp drop in demand in 2010, when the
government ended subsidies for buying low-emission vehicles.

Retail sales jumped 2.5% in December from a year earlier following
a 2.2% drop in November, beating the median forecast of a 2.0% rise in a
Market News International survey of economists.

It was the highest increase in more than a year since +4.3%
recorded in August 2010.

Retail sales posted six rises and as many drops last year,
indicating that consumer demand is drifting sideways amid growing global
uncertainties.

For the whole of 2011, retail sales in Japan stood at Y134.04
trillion, down 1.2% on the year, posting the first drop in two years
following +2.5% in 2010.

In December, retail sales of clothing rose 4.5% on year after +2.4%
in November while those of fuel gained 5.7% after +1.1% in the previous
month.

Retail sales of automobiles rose 14.9% from a year earlier in
December, posting the third consecutive y/y rise after surging 19.8% in
November.

Meanwhile, retail sales of machinery and equipment including
consumer electronics in December posted a fifth straight on-year drop
but the pace of decline decelerated sharply to -9.9% from a record fall
of 51.9% in November and a 30.3% slump in October.

Other details from the latest data:

Commercial sales, or combined sales at the wholesale and retail
levels (y/y): December -0.5%, a second straight fall.

Sales at the wholesale level (y/y): December -1.6%, also the second
straight fall.

Large retail store sales on a same-store adjusted basis (y/y):
December -0.4%, a fifth straight y/y fall.

Large retail store sales, unadjusted (y/y): December +0.5%, the
first rise in five months.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **

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