Tokyo
JAPANESE retail sales in March declined at their fastest annual pace in 17 years as consumer spending struggled to pick up a year after a sales-tax increase, keeping alive speculation the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will expand stimulus again later this year.
Retail sales slid 9.7 per cent in March from the same month last year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday.
Sales had been expected to drop sharply in comparison with March 2014, when they had surged ahead of the sales-tax...