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(CEP News) - Japanese retail sales slid further in March, as Japanese consumers continue to scale back spending amidst the recession.
According to the report released by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Tuesday morning (Monday night EDT), retail sales posted a 3.9% annual decline, which was nonetheless better than the 4.7% fall expected by economists, as well as February's revised 5.7% fall. Large retailers saw another big sales decline in March, as they posted an 8.1% year-over-year decline in sales, identical to the 8.1% slide in February and worse than the 7.8% drop forecast. The less pronounced decline in the headline matched up with data from the Japanese Cabinet Office last week, which reported a small improvement in consumer confidence to 29.6 from 27.6. The index still remains deep in recessionary territory. Statistics already released for March showed sharp annual declines in department store sales (-13.1%), supermarket sales (-4.0%) and car sales (-31.5%). By Ernest Hoffman,
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