Second month in a row, retail sales in Japan fell in September.

Retail sales in Japan declined for the second month in a row in September as customers cut down on spending due to the coronavirus pandemic, bolstering fears that the world’s third-largest economy will stall in the third quarter.

Given the pandemic’s longer-than-anticipated impact on Japanese manufacturers and consumers, the Bank of Japan is expected to cut its economic growth prediction for the current fiscal year in its quarterly report, which is coming later on Thursday.

Retail sales fell 0.6 percent in September compared to the same month a year ago, according to government data released on Thursday, beating experts’ median projection of a 2.3 percent drop in a Reuters poll.

It came on the heels of a 3.2 percent drop in August, the first year-on-year drop in six months. Retail sales climbed by 2.7 percent seasonally adjusted over the previous month.

Story by : Norvisi Mawunyegah