Japan: Consumer confidence steady in March
Consumer sentiment was stable in March at 44.3, matching February’s print and the lowest level in six months. The reading was below the 44.5 that market analysts had expected. The consumer confidence index measures consumers’ expectations for the next six months on a scale of 0–100; a figure of 100 indicates that all respondents see their living standards improving.
Consumers had a more negative assessment about future income growth and their overall livelihoods in March. On the other hand, their willingness to buy durable goods improved, and they were more optimistic about employment prospects, offsetting the deterioration in sentiment. Moreover, expectations of higher prices decreased in March, with 79.8% of the respondents (down 1.5% from last month’s survey) expecting that prices will trend higher.