Japan April Household Spending Dips Y/Y on Car Supply Delays, Less Cooking at Home

–Spending Up M/M As People Dine Out, Travel More Freely After Covid Rules Eased By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s real household spending posted the second straight year-on-year drop in April as supply bottlenecks hampered car purchases and people dined out more freely, spending less on groceries compared to a year earlier when a Covid […]

Japan April Retail Sales Rise Further After Govt Eases Covid Rules in Late March

–METI Upgrades View: Retail Sales Showing Signs of Pickup Vs. Being Flat–Shoppers Flock to Department Stores; Clothing Up on Summer Weather–High Fuel Costs Prop Up Retail Sales; Supply Delays Keep Auto Sales Down By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese retail sales in April posted solid gains for the second straight month both on the year […]

Japan April Industrial Output Slips on Dimmer Global Demand, Chinese Lockdowns

–METI Downgrades View: Factory Output Pausing Vs. Showing Signs of Pickup–METI Repeats: To Watch Effects of Pandemic, Parts Shortages, Inflation, Ukraine By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production posted the first month-on-month drop in three months in April as global reopening demand turned lower and Chinese Covid lockdowns caused further supply delays, preliminary data […]

Japan May Tokyo CPI Y/Y Rise Around BOJ’s 2% Target but FY22 Uptick Seen Temporary

–May Tokyo CPI Annual Rate Highest in Nearly 3 Decades Excluding 2014, 1997 Sales Tax Hike Impact–Energy, Food Prices Lead Inflation; BOJ Sees Impact of Commodity Market Spike Fading in FY23–Gasoline Price Markups Smaller on Govt Subsidies; Utilities Costs High but Also Easing By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The year-on-year rise in consumer prices in […]

Preview Update: Japan Q1 GDP Contraction Seen Amid Covid Restrictions, Supply Delays

–Consumption Hit by Public Health Rules During Most of January-March –Capex Slower on Supply Constraints, High Producer Costs Amid Ukraine War –Q2 GDP Rebound Expected as Economy Reopens but Uncertainty Lingers     –Japan GDP Report at 19:50 ET Tuesday By Max Sato  (MaceNews) – Japan’s gross domestic product for the January-March quarter is forecast by economists […]

Japan Economic Sentiment Picks Up in March but Uncertainty Lingers Over Costs, Ukraine

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese data and anecdotal evidence are pointing to a resilient economy after the number of Covid cases peaked in February, but households and business continued to face rising costs and uncertainty over the pandemic and geopolitical risks after an expected slump in the first quarter. Economic confidence in Japan partially […]