Japan’s Retail Sales Slump Most in 13 Years After Earthquake

Japan’s retail sales tumbled the most in 13 years last month as the nation’s record earthquake shut stores and discouraged households from spending money.

Sales slumped 8.5 percent in March from a year earlier, the biggest decline since March 1998, according to a statement by trade ministry in Tokyo today. The median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 6.1 percent drop.