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REPEAT: MNI 5 THINGS: Japan July Retail Sales Up on Fuels

--Rain Storms, Heat Waves Hit Clothing, Department Store Sales 
     TOKYO (MNI) - Japan's retail sales posted the ninth straight year-on-year
rise in July as higher energy costs and strong demand for food and beverages
offset the dampening effects of heavy rains and severe heat waves on department
store sales, preliminary data released Thursday by the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry (METI) showed.
     The key points from the latest retail sales data:
     * Retail sales rose 1.5% on year in July for the ninth straight
year-on-year rise, coming in slightly firmer than the MNI median economist
forecast for +1.2%. The pace of growth was slightly below the 1.7% rise in June
and was lower than the recent peak of +3.6% in December 2017.
     * Fuel sales continued to grow at a high pace of +17.5% y/y in July after
+17.0% in June on year-on-year gains in energy prices. Sales of medicine and
cosmetics also remained solid, up 4.8% y/y in July after +3.7% in June.
     * On the other hand, bad weather pushed down apparel sales by 3.8% in July,
the fourth straight year-on-year drop after -2.3% in June.
     * On the month, retail sales rose 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in
July for the second straight m/m rise after +1.4% in June. The three-month
moving average fell 0.1% from the previous three-month period in July, the first
drop in two months after rising 0.4% in June.
     * METI maintained its view that retail sales are "flat." In February, it
downgraded its view for the first time since January 2016. Previously, it said
retail sales had been picking up moderately.
     * Industry data released last week showed department store sales slumped
6.1% on year in July for the first y/y drop in two months after rising 3.1% in
May, hit by killer rain storms and heat waves. There was also one less Saturday
in the month compared to last year. The Japan Department Stores Association
noted that spending by tourists from overseas continued to post double-digit
percentage gains on year.
--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-4670-5309; email: max.sato@marketnews.com

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