Japan's retail sales edged up 1.6% year over year in February, following a revised gain of 1.5% in January, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed.

On a monthly basis, sales increased by 0.4%.

Coupled with wholesale sales, which edged up by 4% on a yearly basis, the latest retail sales figures brought the total of commercial sales in Japan to ¥36.5 trillion for February, the Financial Times reported.

As of March 28, US$1 was equivalent to ¥106.19.