— Japan Aug Consumer Confidence Index 42.4 Vs 43.3 In July
— Japan Govt Downgrades View: Consumer Confidence Marking Time
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s Consumer Confidence Survey index slumped to
42.4 in August from 43.3 in July, posting the second consecutive
month-on-month drop, as fewer people were certain about their overall
economic well-being and job security for the coming months, the Cabinet
Office said on Thursday.
The Cabinet Office downgraded its assessment from the previous
month for the first time since December 2009, saying: “Consumer
confidence is marking time after showing moves for an improvement.”
Last month the government said consumer confidence appeared to be
improving.
August’s 0.9-point m/m fall followed a 0.2-point fall in July and a
0.7-point gain in June, when the headline index hit 43.5, the highest
level since September 2007, when it was at 44.1.
From a year earlier, the overall index still rose 2.3 points in
August, marking the 16th consecutive year-on-year rise, after rising 3.9
points in July.
Before the sixth consecutive month-to-month rise through June 2010,
the index dropped for the second straight month in December 2009. The
decline in November 2009 was the first in 11 months.
The overall index recovered steadily through September 2009 from
the record low of 26.2 hit in December 2008. The index reached its most
recent peak of 48.4 in February 2007.
In today’s data, the sub-index on income growth was flat but the
remaining three sub-indexes on employment conditions, overall economic
well-being and willingness to buy durable goods fell from the previous
month.
The index showing sentiment on asset values, which is not included
in the overall consumer confidence index, stood at 38.7 in August, down
0.7 point from the previous month and after being flat in July.
The latest survey was conducted on Aug. 15, covering 6,720
households, of which 5,042 responded.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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