Japan Retail Sales Rise Third Month

(RTTNews) - Japan retail sales increased for the third month in May, suggesting that consumer spending remained robust in the second quarter, official data revealed Monday.

Retail sales advanced 5.3 percent in May from the previous year, bigger than the 2.8 percent rise seen in April, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed.

The increase was also stronger than economists' forecast of 3.1 percent and marked the third consecutive rise in sales.

Month-on-month, retail sales grew 1.9 percent following April's 2.1 percent rise.