Japan: Consumer confidence rises in January
Consumer confidence came in at 31.0 in January, up from December’s 30.3. Despite the uptick, the index remained entrenched below the 50-threshold, pointing to improving, albeit still negative sentiment among consumers.
The headline print reflected improvements in three out of four subcomponents of the consumer confidence index. Consumers became less pessimistic about the next 12 months concerning their overall livelihoods, income growth and employment. However, they became more pessimistic about their willingness to buy durable goods.