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Japan's November retail sales edge higher
Japanese retail sales rose 0.4% in November from a year earlier, the government said Friday, a sign that household consumption may be starting to recover from a slump in the summer triggered by a sales tax increase in April. The rise in the retail sales data, released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, was led by increases in textiles, food and beverages, and medicines and cosmetics, though falls in automobiles continued to weigh on the headline figure. Sales at large-scale retailers rose 1.2% from a year earlier, after adjustment for the change in the number of stores.