Japan's consumer demand may be faltering again. Bloomberg reports.
Japan's retail sales fell in September as consumers spent less on household goods and clothing... Sales dropped 0.8 percent, seasonally adjusted from August, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a report today...
The 3.8 percent annual pace of expansion in consumer spending in the first half, the fastest in more than a decade, may slow in the latter half of the year, said economist Yasuhiro Onakado...
Retail sales rose 0.1 percent in September from a year earlier, while in the third quarter sales gained 0.8 percent from the year-earlier quarter, the trade ministry said.
The trade surplus also fell in September, although exports did well.
Japan's trade surplus...fell 21 percent from a year earlier to 956.9 billion yen ($8.3 billion), the Ministry of Finance said in Tokyo. The median estimate of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 832.6 billion yen. Exports rose 8.8 percent, more than the 5.8 percent estimate. Imports grew 17 percent, in line with forecasts.
Surging fuel prices have narrowed Japan's surplus for six straight months...
Japan's exports rose to 5.9 trillion yen, a record. Imports and exports to China and the rest of Asia also increased to an all-time high.
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