2015.04.2720:45:00UTC+00Japan Retail Sales Plummet 9.7% In March

The total value of retail sales in Japan tumbled 9.7 percent on year in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday - coming in at 12.396 trillion yen.

That missed forecasts for a decline of 7.5 percent following the 1.7 percent contraction in February.

Sales from large retailers plummeted an annual 13.0 percent to 1.715 trillion yen - also missing estimates for a fall of 10.9 percent following the 1.3 percent increase in the previous month.

Commercial sales dropped 8.5 percent on year to 42.270 trillion yen after losing 3.3 percent a month earlier.

Wholesale sales retreated 7.9 percent to 29.874 trillion yen after falling 4.0 percent in February.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales dipped 1.9 percent versus expectations for an increase of 0.6 percent after gaining 0.7 percent a month earlier.

For the first quarter of 2015, retail sales were down 4.8 percent on year to 34.611 trillion yen after adding 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Large retailer sales were down an annual 4.6 percent to 4.935 trillion yen in Q1 after adding 0.4 percent in the previous three months.

Commercial sales dropped 5.1 percent on year to 114.962 trillion yen after dipped 1.3 percent in Q4, while wholesale sales fell 5.2 percent to 80.351 trillion yen after losing 2.1 percent three months earlier.