Retail sales jump in consumer spending in Japan | Business and Economic News

However, the outlook for the consumption-driven recovery is clouded by uncertainties about the Omicron variant.

Japan’s retail sales rose faster than expected in November as COVID-19 cases fell by a month, prompting buyers to increase spending on goods and services.

To support the economy, the government approved it on Friday A record budget of $ 940 billion By fiscal 2022, including payments to families and businesses affected by the pandemic.

Expectations of a consumer-driven recovery, however, are clouded by uncertainties about the new Omicron coronavirus variant, which began spreading to the community in Japan’s largest cities last week.

“So far, consumers have not been too concerned about Omicron, as pedestrian traffic data still shows an increase,” said Masato Koike, senior economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

The government said last Thursday that it was not considering an immediate change in COVID-19 restrictions as a result of the new variant.

“But if new infections jump in … there’s a risk or likelihood right now that Omicron will cut consumption,” Koike said, adding that returning passengers during the holiday season could spread the infection.

Retail sales rose 1.9 percent in November from a year earlier, government data showed on Monday, faster than the average forecast for economists, a 1.7 percent gain and a 0.9% advance in October.

Fuel sales rose 29.2 percent in November from a year earlier, boosting commodity prices, boosting the overall retail trend. Car sales fell 14.1 percent as a result of supply collapses, and electronics sales fell 10.6 percent as demand for household appliances fell.

Compared to the previous month, retail sales rose 1.2 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 1 percent in the downward revision in October.

After the government removed pandemic-related borders in September, COVID-19 cases in Japan fell to less than a million people earlier in the month earlier this month.

No restrictions have been reinstated, except for stricter border controls to stop the spread of the new Omicron variant.

The world’s third-largest economy will grow 6.1 percent in the year-on-year quarter from a 3.6 percent drop from July to September, according to the latest Reuters news agency survey.