Despite high inflation, Japan's retail sales grew at a faster pace in May suggesting strong contribution by private consumption to economic growth, official data revealed Thursday.
Elsewhere, a monthly survey published by the Cabinet Office showed that consumer confidence improved to an 18-month high in June as households were more positive about income growth and employment.
Retail sales registered an annual growth of 5.7 percent in May after rising 5.1 percent in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.