Japanese retail sales growth accelerated for the third straight month in September in an encouraging sign that consumer spending could be strong enough to absorb a second sales tax increase scheduled for next year.
The 2.3 percent annual rise blew past a 0.6 percent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll and marked the biggest gain since March. It followed a 1.2 percent rise in August.
Consumer spending has disappointed since the government raised the sales tax once in April, so evidence that a durable turnaround is imminent could make it easier for Tokyo to go ahead with a second hike in the tax to boost revenue for welfare spending.
Rebounding consumer spending is also a welcome sign for the Bank of Japan, as it tries to guide inflation to 2 percent some time next fiscal year to eliminate the risk of Japan falling back into deflation.
via Reuters
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