Japan: Consumer confidence continues to rise in October
Consumer confidence came in at 33.6 in October, up from September’s 32.7. October’s result marked the strongest reading since February. As a result, the index—which measures consumer expectations about the economy for the next six months—moved closer to the 50-threshold, but still indicated pessimism among consumers.
The headline print reflected a broad-based improvement in consumers’ sentiment regarding the coming six months. Views of overall livelihood, income growth employment opportunities and willingness to buy durable goods all became less pessimistic in October compared with the prior month’s survey.