Sales at local department stores inched up in March from a year earlier, slightly improving from the previous month’s decline, preliminary government data showed Tuesday. Department store sales grew 0.1 percent on-year in March, according to the data by the Finance Ministry.

The on-year rise followed a 1.7 percent fall in February.

Sales at discount chains, however, dropped 3.8 percent on-year in March. This marked a second straight month of decline following a 23.1 percent drop in February.

The ministry said that while retail sales remained weak in March, they seemed to be rebounding from the sluggish performance seen in the previous month caused by the absence of the Lunar New Year holidays.

The holidays, which usually lead to brisk consumer demand, fell in January this year unlike last year when they were in February. Domestic sales of passenger vehicles produced here edged up 0.9 percent over the same period last year, following a 9.6 percent gain in February, the data showed. (Yonhap)