Retail sales in Japan experienced a year-over-year increase of 3.7% in December, reaching 16.123 trillion yen, as reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Friday. This figure surpassed the anticipated rise of 3.4% and marked an improvement from the 2.8% increase seen in November.
On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, retail sales observed a decline of 0.7%, following a 1.9% increase recorded in the previous month. In terms of commercial sales, there was a 0.5% decrease from the previous month, but a 3.6% year-over-year increase, totaling 57.219 trillion yen. Wholesale sales also dipped by 0.5% month-over-month, yet they achieved a 3.5% yearly gain, amounting to 41.096 trillion yen.
Looking at the fourth quarter of 2024, retail sales contracted by 0.3% quarter-over-quarter but grew by 2.6% compared to the same period the previous year, standing at 44.160 trillion yen. For the whole of 2024, retail sales rose by 2.5%, culminating at 167.179 trillion yen.
