Japanese government releases its May outlook
July 2014 was the last time that Abe & Co were upbeat on consumer spending and they have changed their outlook in the latest report. Consumer spending is now viewed as "showing signs of picking up". It had been "Holds firm as a whole"
CPI expectations are rising with inflation seen as "prices rising moderately" from "prices are flat"
They may be bullish over the Japanese shopper but the export assessment has been lowered to "almost flat" from "picking up recently" That's the first export downgrade since Nov 2013. The same goes for industrial production which is now "picking up with weakness in some areas" from "picking up"
On Monday the BOJ were "moderately" pleased with the economy
