Japanese consumption collapses in April
Japanese households’ consumption fell by 1.3% from a year earlier in April, a far worse outcome than the growth of 3.4% which economists had been projecting.
In month-on-month terms spending dropped 5.5%.
That may keep up the pressure on the country’s policymakers to underpin the economic recovery with further economic stimulus.
On 26 May the Bank of Japan had said that: “private consumption is expected to remain resilient with the employment and income situation continuing to improve steadily.”
Core consumer prices – which exclude fresh food prices - increased in April by 0.3% year-on-year, well below March’s reading of 2.2% although a tad ahead of the 0.2% anticipated by economists.
The unemployment rate slipped in April by one tenth of a percentage point to reach 3.3%. However, that was partly a reflection of a shrinking workforce after 340,000 people left the jobs market.
Industrial production in Asia’s second largest economy expanded by 1% in comparison to March, in line with analysts’ forecasts.
As of 09:21 the dollar/yen was off only slightly, edging lower by 0.05% to 123.746.