Japan: Consumer confidence tumbles to over five-year low in August
Consumer sentiment declined from 37.8 in July to 37.1 in August. The print represented the lowest reading since April 2014 and was below the 37.5 expected by market analysts. The consumer confidence index measures consumers’ expectations for the next six months on a scale of 0–100; a figure of 100 indicates that all respondents see their living standards improving.
Consumers were markedly more pessimistic about their willingness to buy durable goods. Sentiment regarding overall livelihood and job prospects posted a softer drop in the month. Income growth, however, was unchanged from July’s print. Regarding inflation, expectations of higher prices declined in August, with 87.0% of respondents expecting prices to trend higher (down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s survey).