— Japan Feb Spending +2.3% Y/Y; MNI Median Forecast -0.4%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s average household spending unexpectedly
rebounded in February in light of higher car purchases using government
subsidies and leap-year effects on buying food, data from the Ministry
of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Friday.
Household spending stood at a real Y267,895 in February, up 2.3%
from a year earlier, marking the first year-on-year rise in two months
following -2.3% in January and +0.5% in December.
The February reading was much stronger than the median forecast for
a 0.4% dip in a MNI survey of economists, partly because of a sharp
increase in funeral and wedding costs, which was the largest contributor
to the 2.3% rise.
In nominal terms, household spending rose 2.7% y/y in February,
after falling 2.1% in January.
The average real income of salaried workers’ households rose 2.5%
from a year earlier in February to Y483,514, the second consecutive
year-on-year rise.
Real disposable income in the average salaried workers’ household
increased 1.8% in February from a year before to Y405,588, also the
second consecutive year-on-year increase.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$,MT$$$$]
