Japan's June retail sales up 0.3 percent on increased fuel spending

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Retail sales in Japan rose 0.3 percent to 10.99 trillion yen ($102.3 billion) in June from a year earlier, helped by increased spending on fuel due to higher gasoline prices combined with higher spending on food purchases, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday. It was the eleventh straight month retail sales had risen and followed a 0.3 percent rise in May and a 0.1 percent rise in April. The April reading was the worst since July 2007, when sales fell 2.3 percent. Between August 2007 and March 2008, retail sales registered growth. Sales at fuel retailers rose 1.1 percent in May from a year earlier and sales at food and beverage retailers were up 3.0 percent. The ministry said sales at large retail stores fell 3.9 percent after adjustments for the change in the number of stores, the third straight monthly fall, and were down 2.6 percent on an unadjusted basis, which was also the third straight monthly fall. Sales at the wholesale level rose 5.1 percent and commercial sales, or combined sales at the wholesale and retail levels, were up 4.1 percent. [email][email protected][/email] - yas/ng COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.