Shipments of home appliances in Japan rose in July from a year earlier to mark the first increase in four months. One reason for the increase was factories in Shanghai restarting production as coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

The Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association says domestic shipments totaled 283.1 billion yen or around 2 billion dollars. That's up 13.7 percent in yen terms from a year earlier.

The figure for washing machines was 39.7 billion yen or about 290 million dollars, up 29.3 percent from last year.
That's the highest for any July on record since the statistics began in 1986.

By unit, air conditioners marked a 7.6 percent increase and refrigerators were up 3.4 percent. Scorching heat in June drove up demand for these appliances.

Looking ahead, the association says they are closely watching how recent price hikes might affect appliance shipments.