Its been a big morning in Japan for economic data:
- All the Japan data – household spending, employment, CPI
- More Japan data retail trade, industrial production
Fast FT have followed up the data releases with some posts, headlined
(Fast FT is gated)
Some of the points they make:
- … suggest the Japanese economy is failing to recover as expected in the third quarter
- Japanese inflation stalled in July
- household consumption fell much more sharply than anticipated (&fourth straight month of declines since the April sales tax increase)
- The jobless rate rose
More:
- Many analysts say the recent stall in inflation suggests the Bank of Japan’s war against deflation is wearing thin
- Industrial production fell more sharply than expected in JulyThere was also a miss in retail sales for the month
And here’s the kicker … what it probably means for the BOJ:
- … suggesting policymakers may have to take new action to help the economy recover after the weakest quarter of economic growth in nearly three years
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I find it difficult to argue with them … (ps. bolding above is mine)
Photo of response at the BOJ (photo from unreliable source … may not be accurate :-D)