Japan February Consumer Spending Bounces – Stimulus, Tax Still in Focus

Japan’s consumer spending in February rose for the first time in six months, official data showed on Tuesday, but the rise was partly because of the extra Leap Year day and did little to reduce pressure on the government to inject more economic stimulus.

The propensity to consume – a measure of households’ willingness to spend rather than save – rose 3.9 points in February, the biggest gain in nine months.

Spending also rose because consumers bought mobile phone plans before government regulations stopped carriers from subsidising the entire cost of handsets, economists said

Reuters

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Former Craig

Former Craig

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary. His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.