Retail sales in Japan were up 0.5 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday - worth 11.812 trillion yen.
That beat forecasts for a decline of 0.2 percent following the 0.6 percent contraction in June.
Sales from large retailers dipped 0.6 percent on year to 1.717 trillion yen versus expectations for a fall of 0.8 percent following the 1.8 percent tumble in the previous month.
The data also showed that commercial sales were up 0.1 percent on year to 39.035 trillion yen, while wholesale sales eased an annual 0.2 percent to 27.223 trillion yen.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales dipped 0.5 percent missing forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent after gaining 0.5 percent in June.
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