MNI BRIEF: Japan Consumer Confidence Posts 2nd Straight Rise

Japan’s consumer confidence index rose for a second consecutive month in June, climbing 1.7 points to 34.5 from 32.8 in May, prompting the government to upgrade its assessment, data from the Cabinet Office showed Tuesday.

The improvement eases concern that private consumption may lose further momentum, as households continue to face pressure from high food prices and three consecutive months of negative real wages.

A decline in rice prices appeared to support the improvement in sentiment.

All four components of the index – overall livelihood, income expectations, employment conditions, and willingness to buy durable goods – rose in June.

A separate sub-index on asset prices, which is not included in the overall confidence calculation, increased to 40.8 from 39.2.

Inflation expectations showed some easing. The share of respondents expecting consumer prices to rise fell to 92.1% in June from 93.6% in May, while those expecting lower prices edged up to 2.5% from 2.2%.

Notably, the share of households projecting the consumer price index to rise more than 5% over the next year declined to 48.8% in June from 55.5% in May.