⁍ Japanese retail sales dropped 1.2% in June from a year earlier.

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⁍ Compared with a median market forecast for a 6.5% decrease.

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– Japan’s retail sales fell 1.2% in June from a year earlier, the first decline in seven months and worse than the 6.5% expected by analysts, reports the Wall Street Journal. The drop in sales, which followed a 2.1% increase in May, is likely to raise pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to take steps to shore up Japan’s growth rate, which fell to 2.1% in the second quarter from 2.9% a year earlier. The government is also expected to release revised second-quarter GDP figures on Friday.