Japan’s household spending seen slipping in August after natural disasters: Reuters poll

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s household spending was expected to fall slightly in August as natural disasters took a heavy toll, although the tight labor market and wage growth probably supported consumption, a Reuters poll found on Friday.

Household spending was expected to have edged down 0.1 percent in August from a year earlier, the poll of 16 economists found, after it grew 0.1 percent in July.

“Summer heat helped sales of seasonal items but a series of natural disasters dented consumer spending,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

“An adverse impact from typhoons and quakes may continue to appear in the September data. But the jobs market is tight and wages are rising, so the trend of recovering consumer spending is expected to continue.”

The government plans to compile an extra budget for disaster relief after Japan was hit by deadly typhoons, flooding, record heat waves and earthquakes.

The household spending data measures changes in what a household of two or more people spends on items such as food, housing, electricity, clothes, transport and education.

Latest data showed retail sales, which track the performance of department stores, supermarkets and convenience stores, rose 2.7 percent in August from a year earlier. That compared with a median market forecast for a 2.1 percent increase.

The government will issue the household spending data at 8:30 a.m. on Friday Oct. 5 Japan time (2330 GMT on Oct. 4).

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.