— Japan Apr Spending +2.6% Y/Y; MNI Forecast +2.5%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s average household spending in April marked a
third straight year-on-year rise, thanks to lingering effects of revived
government subsidies for buying low-emission vehicles, data from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Tuesday.
Household spending stood at a real Y301,948 in April, up 2.6% from
a year earlier following a 3.4% rise in March.
The April reading was largely in line with the median forecast for
a 2.5% increase in a MNI survey of economists.
Spending has rebounded from depressed consumption seen a year ago,
when the massive earthquake and nuclear meltdown in March 2011 jolted
the already slowing economy.
In April, spending on transportation and communication, which
includes auto purchases, surged a real 16.1% on the year, pushing up
overall household spending by 2.01 percentage points.
Spending on domestic holiday tours and eating out also continued to
support household spending in April compared with a year earlier, when
many consumers outside earthquake disaster areas refrained from spending
out of respect for the victims.
In nominal terms, household spending increased 3.2% y/y in April
following a 4.1% rise in the previous month.
The average real income of salaried workers’ households rose 2.7%
to Y469,381 in April, for a fourth straight year-on-year rise.
Real disposable income in the average salaried workers’ household
increased 2.3% from a year earlier, also for a fourth straight rise.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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