Japanese household spending data
- Prior was +1.0% y/y
- Household spending +5.5% m/m vs +3.8% expected
September was the final month before the consumption tax rose to 10% from 8% so consumers moved up spending. It's a tough one to forecast. While it looks like good news, it probably just means less spending in Oct/Nov.
You can see that the spike this month even exceeds the spike before the 2014 rise in the consumption tax. You can also see how spending cratered for months afterwards.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has recommended that Japan eventually raise its consumption tax to 25% or 26%.
