— Japan Nov Tertiary Index -0.8% M/M; MNI Median Forecast -0.3%
— Japan Tertiary Index Posts 1st M/M Drop in 2 Mths; Oct +0.7%
— Japan Nov Tertiary Index -0.8%% Y/Y Vs Oct +0.6%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s tertiary industry index, which measures
spending in the services sector, posted the first drop in two months in
November, hit by sluggish retails sales of consumer electronics, data
from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted index fell 0.8% to 98.0 in November
following a revised 0.7% rise in October and a 0.4% fall in September.
The level remained below the pre-disaster level of 99.3 marked in
February.
The October figure came in weaker than the median forecast for
-0.3% by economists polled by Market News International.
The decrease was led largely by the recent slump in retail sales of
TVs, air conditioners/heaters and refrigerators after rush purchases of
digital TVs in July, when Japan terminated analogue broadcasting, a
METI official said.
Wholesale export and import business was also down amid the global
economic slowdown, which also contributed to the drop in the index.
From a year earlier, the unadjusted index fell 0.8% to 96.5 in
November, marking the first drop in four months, after rising 0.6% in
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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