Japan March retail sales fall 9.7 percent year-on-year; misses consensus

TOKYO Japanese retail sales fell 9.7 percent 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 percent year-on-year drop in a Reuters poll of 17 economists.

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

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)