Retail sales in Japan rose for the first time in three months helped by a rebound from July when a typhoon dissuaded many consumers from shopping during a three-day weekend, media reports said.
Japan’s demand for services rose at the fastest pace in four months as consumers returned to shops after a stormy July and factory production rebounded from earthquake-related stoppages.
Spending on retail, golf and amusement parks climbed in August, with government figures and those by the Japan Association of Travel Agents revealing this trend with outlays on travel going up 4.5 percent.
The tertiary index, a gauge of money households and businesses spend on phone calls, power and transportation, went up 1.3 percent during July-August, the Trade Ministry said.
Household spending, retail sales, exports and industrial production all rose in August, suggesting Japan is weathering the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. Demand at home, along with exports to Asia and Europe, is buoying the world’s second- largest economy, even as its biggest export market slows.
“The trend in the tertiary numbers shows there’s a very steady — albeit unspectacular — recovery happening in the domestic economy,” said Richard Jerram, chief Japan economist at Macquarie Securities. “It’s a sign of internal dynamism.”
Hot August weather drove retail sales and demand for air- conditioning higher, said Masato Hisatake, a spokesman at the Trade Ministry. The wholesale and retail sales index climbed 2 percent, the most since April. The gauge of demand for utilities surged 8 percent to a record.
