Japan retail sales beat expectations

Retail sales in Japan increased by 3.8 percent in December. According to data from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, retail sales in December increased by 3.8 percent compared to the same month last year. Economists had expected retail sales, which have been increasing steadily for the last 10 months, to increase by 3.0 percent in December. Industrial production in December decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous month. Expectations were for a 1.2 percent decrease. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expects industrial production to remain flat in January and to grow by 4.1 percent in February. The unemployment rate in Japan in December was unchanged from the previous month, at 2.5 percent.