The jump in retail sales in February and the strong rise in the Q1 Tankan released today confirm that the economy weathered the second state of emergency far better than the first. And there is growing evidence that output will pick up markedly at the start of Q2. However, with the vaccine rollout not proceeding fast enough for jabs to stem the virus spread in the near term, the recent upward trend in daily cases threatens to ruin the party and knock back consumer spending yet again towards the end of this quarter.
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