Japan: Consumer confidence hits two-year high in December
Consumer confidence rose to 37.2 in December from November’s 36.1. December’s result marked the best reading in two years. However, the index remained below the 50-threshold, indicating pessimism among consumers.
Consumers became less pessimistic about the next year regarding their overall livelihoods, employment, income growth prospects and willingness to buy durable goods, driving a slight improvement in the index.
With the uptick, consumer confidence in Q4 averaged slightly above Q3 levels, reaching the highest level in two years. This bodes well for private spending in the quarter, with our panelists projecting a rebound after a contraction in Q3.