— Japan June Retail Sales +0.2% Y/Y; MNI Survey Median Forecast +1.4%
— Japan June Retail Sales Post 7th Y/Y Rise In Row
— Japan June Retail Car Sales +37.0% Y/Y; May +47.2%
— Japan June Retail Fuel Sales -6.1% Y/Y; May +2.4%
— Japan June Retail Machinery Sales -32.3% Y/Y; May -23.9%

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s retail sales posted slower-than-expected
growth in June as the effects of government stimulus measures weakened,
data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released Friday
showed.

Still, retail sales managed to post a seventh straight month of
year-on-year rises last month.

June retail sales rose just 0.2%, well below the MNI survey median
forecast for a 1.4% rise. Moreover, the pace of sales growth decelerated
notably from rises of 3.6% in May, 5.7% in April and 10.3% in March.

Retail sales of automobiles rose 37.0% from a year earlier in June,
the ninth consecutive y/y gain after rising by 47.3% in May.

Automobile sales sagged during most of 2011 after the government
ended subsidies for buying ecological-friendly cars and trucks in
September 2010 but have been supported by the resumption of the program
in December last year.

Economists have warned of a slowdown in retail sales as the effects
of the subsidies on auto sales, which account for about 10% of overall
retail sales, wane.

The government program may be terminated in July or August, one to
two months earlier than expected, as it is running out of money due to
high demand, press reports said.

Reflecting lower gasoline and heating oil prices, retail sales of
fuel fell 6.1% on year in June after a 2.4% rise in May.

The average price of regular gasoline in Japan fell to Y139.4 in
the week started July 9, the lowest since Y139.0 in the Feb. 28, 2011
week, according to the recent data from the Agency for Natural Resources
and Energy showed Wednesday.

Before the recent decline, the price reached Y158.3 in the week
starting on April 2, the highest in three and a half years since Y161.6
seen in the week of Oct. 14, 2008.

Retail sales of machinery and equipment including consumer
electronics posted a 11th straight on-year drop, down 32.3% in June, due
to an unfavorable base effect caused by robust demand for digital TVs
before the termination of analog broadcasting service in July last year.

Other details from the latest data:

Commercial sales, or combined sales at the wholesale and retail
levels (y/y): June -2.8%, the first fall in four months.

Sales at the wholesale level (y/y): June -3.8%, also the first fall
in four months.

Large retail store sales on a same-store adjusted basis (y/y): June
-2.6%, a third straight drop.

Large retail store sales, unadjusted (y/y): June -2.2%, a second
straight fall.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **

[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$,MT$$$$]