The report provided by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) revealed that retail sales in Japan rose at a faster-than-expected pace in July.

According to the report, the Japanese retail sales increased 2.4 percent y-o-y last month after a 0.1 percent y-o-y rise in June. That was above economists’ forecast for an advance of 2.1 percent y-o-y.

In July, gains were recorded in sales of fuel (+27.7 percent y-o-y), motor vehicles (+3.1 percent y-o-y), fabrics, apparel and accessories (+2.9 percent y-o-y), food and beverages (+2.5 percent y-o-y), general merchandise (+1.0 percent y-o-y) and medicine and toiletry (+0.6 percent y-o-y) stores. At the same time, sales fell in machinery and equipment (-2.6 percent y-o-y), and others (-4.6 percent y-o-y) stores and nonstore retailers (-2.4 percent y-o-y). 

On a monthly basis, retail sales recorded a growth of 1.1 percent in July, following a 3.1 percent surge in the prior month.