Sales at supermarkets in Japan were 1.1 percent lower than a year before at 1.18 trillion yen in August on a same-store basis for the eighth consecutive month, Japan Chain Stores Association said Friday.

Sales last month at supermarkets open for at least one year fell due partly to a drop in services-related sales such as ticket sales and mail order, while food products were selling well.

The association said both food and clothing are in good demand this September and said that the market would be favorable except in unusual circumstances such as corporate separation.

The last month, sales of food, which consist of 63.4 percent of revenue, rose 1.5 percent, marking the first time sales had gone up in eight months since last December. Prices of vegetables were higher unseasonably, while sales of refreshment and ice cream rising sharply, most likely due to hot weather.

Services-related sales plunged 51.6 percent to 4.74 billion yen due to corporate separation of a major company.

Sales of clothing were down 1.8 percent.

(1 usd = 116.20 yen)

Japan Marketing