Data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan showed that in November, the average household spending decreased by 0.4% per annum, to 295,518 yen, after falling by 1.3% per annum in October. It was the fourth consecutive month of decrease but the softest in the sequence. Economists had expected a 0.6% drop. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, household spending rose 0.4% - also beating expectations for a drop of 0.9% following the 2.9% increase in October. Meanwhile, the average monthly household income rose by 0.7% per annum in November, to 514,409 yen.
The report showed that food spending fell by 0.6% per annum after a 0.8% annual decline in October. Spending cuts were also recorded for fuel, light & water charges (-2.9% vs. 8.0%), furniture and household goods (-13.8% vs. -5.8%), clothing and footwear (-13.7% vs. -13.7%), transport and communications (-0.5% vs. 0%), culture and recreation (-2.9% vs. -3.0%), other types of consumption (-2.7% vs. 7.2%) and miscellaneous goods (-5.9% vs. 13.4%). On the other hand, spending increased on housing (18.7% vs. -10.7%), medical care (0.8% vs. -2.4%) and education (31.9% vs. -14.0%).