Japan's retail sales slipped 1.4 percent in August from a year before to reach 10.78 trillion yen, extending a record slump to 29 consecutive months, due to the continued consumption decline and cool weather in western Japan, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
Retail sales of items such as summer wear, food and drinks, and air conditioners were dragged down by a long spell of rainy weather in western Japan, despite hot weather in eastern Japan that boosted sales of these items.
Retail sales of cars, personal computers and other miscellaneous commodities were up on a year-on-year basis, the report says.
Meanwhile, monthly wholesale sales dropped 3.1 percent in August from a year before to reach 32.43 trillion yen, marking a consecutive decline of 23 months.
While sales of items such as drugs, cosmetics, cars, semiconductors and electronics were up, steel and other merchandise slumped because of sluggish wholesale demand at home and abroad, and deflationary wholesale prices.
Overall commercial sales amounted to 43.21 trillion yen in August, down 2.7 percent on a year-on-year basis, and marking the 26th consecutive monthly decline, the report says.
"Although overall demand seems to have hit bottom, things are still see-sawing," a MITI official said, while noting that a year-on-year sales decline in July was comparatively small.
While sales at large-scale retail stores, including ones that opened in the past year, increased 0.5 percent in August on a year-on-year basis, convenience stores managed a year-on-year sales increase of 5.2 percent to earn 591.6 billion yen, it says.