MNI BRIEF: Japan Consumer Confidence Rises; Govt Ups View

Japan’s consumer confidence index rose for the third consecutive month in October, increasing 0.5 points to 35.8 from 35.3 in September, prompting the government to upgrade its assessment from the previous month, data from the Cabinet Office showed Wednesday.

Indexes linked to overall economic well-being, income conditions, labour, and willingness to purchase durable goods all recorded gains for the third straight month.

The government said consumer confidence “is recovering,” compared with the previous view that it “showed a sign of recovering.”

The sub-index on asset prices, which is not included in the overall consumer confidence calculation, stood at 47.0 in October, up from 45.2 in September. This marked the sixth consecutive monthly increase, reflecting gains in the Nikkei stock index.

The results ease a Bank of Japan concern that private consumption could lose momentum as households face high living costs amid negative real wages. 

The share of respondents expecting consumer prices to rise fell slightly to 92.6% in October from 93.4% in September, while those forecasting lower prices declined to 2.2% from 2.3%.

Meanwhile, the proportion of respondents who anticipated consumer prices to rise by more than 5% a year ahead rose to 50.5% in October, up from 49.2% in September.