MNI DATA IMPACT: Japan April Retail Sales Up 0.5% Y/Y

     TOKYO (MNI) - Japan's retail sales slowed to 0.5% y/y in April, with

general merchandise and motor vehicles sales shrinking, while food and fuels

sales expanded, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

showed on Friday.

     Here are the key points from the latest retail sales data:

     --Retail sales rose 0.5% year-on-year in April, lower than the 1.0% y/y

increase forecast by MNI and also the growth recorded in March, the slowest

monthly growth in 2019. 

     --General merchandise sales contracted 3.4% y/y after a 0.9% y/y drop last

month. Sales for motor vehicles fell 1.4% y/y in April, marking the first fall

in seven months.

     --Fuel sales grew for a second month by 3.4% y/y in April, following the

1.4% y/y increase in the previous month. 

     --Sales of food and beverages also increased, up 1.7% y/y after last

month's 1.5% y/y. Sales for medicine and toiletry stores surged 5.8% y/y in

April from previous 0.8% y/y, the fastest growth in the last six months.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; tel: +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: flora.guo@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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