— Japan Apr Tertiary Index +2.6% M/M Vs Mar Revised Record -5.9%
— MNI Survey Median Forecast For Apr Tertiary Index: +2.7%
— Japan Tertiary Index Posts 7th M/M Rise In Past 12 Months
— Japan Apr Tertiary Index -2.4% Y/Y Vs Mar Revised -3.1%
— Japan Tertiary Index Posts 2nd Y/Y Fall in Row

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s tertiary industry index, which measures
spending in the services sector, rebounded in April from a record drop
in March as the fallout from the March 11 earthquake eased, data from
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted index rose 2.6% m/m to 95.8 in April
following a revised 5.9% drop in March, which was the largest fall on
record (initially -6.0%)

The April figure came in slightly weaker than the median forecast
for a 2.7% rise in a Market News International survey of economists.

The April rise was the first rise in two months and the seventh in
the past 12 months, led by an improvement in the wholesale and retail
sector (consumer electronics), as well as a rise in information and
communication (computer programing).

Combined sales of retailers and wholesalers, on a seasonally
adjusted basis, rose 4.9% m/m in April, following a 10.2% drop in March,
METI data have shown.

In March people shied away from recreation and gambling out of
respect for the victims of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that
wrecked northeastern Japan. But personal and amusement services
rebounded in April from the previous month.

Under the current data series dating to January 2003, the
seasonally adjusted tertiary index tumbled to a record low level of 93.4
in March 2011, against 100.0 for the 2005 base year.

The index hit a record high of 103.5 in August 2007, when it rose
0.9% from the previous month.

From a year earlier, the unadjusted index fell 2.4% in April to
94.6, after tumbling by a revised 3.1% the previous month.

The service sector employs more than half of Japan’s workforce, and
spending on services such as retailing, dining and travel is closely
tied to changes in income and consumer confidence.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **

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