Japan's household spending posts fastest decline in three and a half years

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's household spending fell at the fastest pace in over 3-1/2-years in October as consumers cut their purchases following a sales tax hike and as natural disasters disrupted business.Household spending dropped 5.1% in October from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, the biggest fall since March 2016 when spending fell 5.3% and weaker than the median forecast for a 3.0% decline.That marked a sharp reversal from the 9.5% jump in September, the fastest growth on..