— See Separate Table For Details of Individual Forecasts
TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese real average household spending in August is
expected to have declined 2.9% from a year earlier, posting a sixth
straight year-on-year drop, according to the median forecast of analysts
surveyed by Market News International.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will release
the August data at 0830 JST on Friday, Sept. 30 (2330 GMT Thursday).
The pace of spending decrease is expected to have accelerated from
-2.1% y/y in July, as demand for replacing outmoded TVs fell in August,
economists said.
Consumers had rushed to buy digital TVs before July 24, when Japan
terminated analogue broadcasting services.
Spending might have been also hurt by concerns about job security
in the face of the strong yen and uncertain global economic growth, said
Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management chief economist Akiyoshi Takumori.
The government’s consumer confidence index was unchanged in August
after improving for a third straight month in July.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, consumption in August is expected
to have fallen 0.5% on the month, posting the first decline in three
months following +0.7% in July, the MNI survey showed.
skodama@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4838 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]
