Japan: Consumer pessimism grows in February
Consumer confidence came in at 35.3 in February, falling from January’s 36.7 reading and marking the lowest print in nine months. As such, the index remained entrenched below the 50-threshold, signaling that consumers remained deeply pessimistic in February.
The overall decline reflected a broad-based decrease in sentiment: Consumers grew more pessimistic regarding their overall livelihood, income growth and employment opportunities in the coming six months, while willingness to buy durable goods also reduced significantly in February compared with the prior month’s survey.