Japanese annual household spending drops for 9 straight months
A woman looks at items at a shop in Tokyo, Japan, March 24, 2023.
PHOTO: Reuters
TOKYO — Japanese household spending fell less than expected in August from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday (Oct 9), for a ninth straight month of decline.
Consumer spending fell 3.1 per cent year-on-year, data from the internal affairs ministry showed, less than the median market forecast for a 3.6 per cent drop.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, spending inched up 0.1 per cent versus an estimated 0.5 per cent uptick.
The indicator will be among factors the Bank of Japan will scrutinise as it decides whether to raise interest rates in coming months.
Japan's real wages marked the eighth consecutive month of gains in August, data from Wednesday showed, pointing to a continued recovery in wage growth.
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