Japan March retail sales fall 9.7% year on year; misses consensus

[TOKYO] Japanese retail sales fell 9.7 per cent in March compared with the same month last year, when sales had surged the most in 17 years ahead of a consumption-tax increase, government data showed on Tuesday.

The result compared with the median forecast for a 7.3 per cent year-on-year drop in a Reuters poll of 17 economists.

Compared with the previous month, sales fell 1.9 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis.

REUTERS