— Japan June Household Spending +1.6% Y/Y; MNI Forecast +2.9%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s average household spending in June marked a
fifth straight year-on-year rise, thanks to lingering effects of
government subsidies for buying low-emission vehicles, data from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Tuesday.
Household spending stood at Y269,810 in June, up a real 1.6% from a
year earlier following a 4.0% rise in May.
The June reading was weaker than the median forecast for a 2.9%
increase in a MNI survey of economists.
Spending has rebounded from depressed consumption seen a year
before, when the massive earthquake and nuclear meltdown in March 2011
jolted the already slowing economy.
In June, spending on transportation and communication, which
includes automobile purchases, rose 19.9% on the year, pushing up
overall household spending by 2.48 percentage points.
Higher spending on cars and air conditioners was partly offset by a
continued decline in purchases of TVs.
In nominal terms, household spending increased 1.5% in June
following a 4.3% rise in May.
The average real income of salaried workers’ households rose 3.8%
to Y712,592 in June, the sixth straight rise, as one-off income and
bonuses surged a real 10.6% last month.
Real disposable income in the average salaried workers’ household
increased 3.7% in June, the first rise in two months, following a 0.4%
decline in the previous month.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
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