Japan: Consumer confidence slips lower in August
The consumer confidence index came in at 29.3 in August, marginally down from July’s 29.5. As a result, the index—which measures consumer expectations about the economy for the next six months—remained well below the 50.0-threshold, which separates pessimism from optimism among consumers.
The headline print reflected a broad-based deterioration in consumers’ assessments regarding the coming six months: Perceptions of employment opportunities, future income, overall livelihood all decreased from July’s survey. Meanwhile, consumers’ willingness to make durable goods purchases improved somewhat from July.