Japan Retail Sales Growth at 4-Month Low

2026-07-30 23:57 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

Retail sales in Japan rose 0.5% year-on-year in June 2026, slowing sharply from a downwardly revised 5.0% increase in the previous month and missing market expectations of 3.1%.

While marking the fourth consecutive month of growth, the latest result was the softest gain in retail trade since February, suggesting consumer spending lost momentum amid persistent inflation and cautious household expenditures.

Sales were only higher for automobiles (16.6%) and clothing and personal goods (14.8%).

On the other hand, turnover declined for fuel (-3.3%), machinery and equipment (-1.7%), department stores (-1.1%), other retail goods (-0.7%), food and beverages (-0.5%), non-store retail (-0.4%), and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics (-0.2%).

On a monthly basis, retail sales fell 4.1%, the first monthly decline in four months, reversing a downwardly revised 1.7% rise in May and signaling the steepest drop since April 2021.



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Japan Retail Sales Growth at 4-Month Low
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