TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Retail sales in Japan were up a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on month in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.
That beat expectations for a flat reading and was down from the 0.4 percent increase in February.
On a yearly basis, retail sales climbed 1.0 percent - also beating forecasts for a gain of 0.8 percent and up from 0.6 percent in the previous month.
Large retailer sales were up an annual 0.6 percent, beating forecasts for a drop of 1.8 percent - which would have been unchanged.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX