— Japan Oct Retail Sales +1.9% Y/Y; Sep -1.1%; MNI F’cast +0.6%
— Japan Oct Retail Car Sales +22.7% Y/Y Vs Sep -0.2%
— Japan Oct Retail Machinery Sales -30.2% Y/Y; Sep -21.6%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s October retail sales posted the first on-year
rise in three months on fading adverse effects of terminating subsidies
for buying fuel-efficient vehicles in September last year, data from the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released Tuesday showed.
Retail sales surged 1.9% in October from a year earlier following
declines of 1.1% in September and 2.6% in August.
The October reading beat the median forecast for a 0.6% rise in a
Market News International survey of economists.
Retail sales of automobiles surged 22.7% from a year earlier in
October, posting the first y/y rise in 13 months after falling 0.2% in
September and 19.0% in August.
The government finished providing subsidies for buying low-emission
vehicles in September last year, causing a long slump in automobile
sales.
Meanwhile, retail sales of machinery and equipment including
consumer electronics in October tumbled 30.2% on year, a record drop,
after falling 21.6% in September, marking the third straight y/y fall.
Some households rushed to purchase flat-screen TVs in July, when
Japan terminated analogue broadcasting services.
Other details from the latest data:
Commercial sales, or combined sales at the wholesale and retail
levels (y/y): October +0.9%, a sixth straight y/y rise.
Sales at the wholesale level (y/y): October +0.5%, also a sixth
straight y/y gain.
Large retail store sales on a same-store adjusted basis (y/y):
October -1.4%, a third straight y/y fall.
Large retail store sales, unadjusted (y/y): October -0.5%, a third
straight y/y drop.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
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