Japan July Consumer Confidence Up on Stable CPI, Higher Stocks

--Japan July Consumer Confidence Index 43.8 Vs June 43.3

--Japan July Consumer Confidence Posts 1st M/M rise in 2 Months

--Japan Govt Repeats: Consumer Confidence Picking Up

     TOKYO (MNI) - The Cabinet Office on Wednesday released the results of its

latest monthly Consumer Confidence Survey of households with two or more people,

which was conducted on July 15.

     * Japan's consumer confidence index edged up 0.5 point to 43.8 in July on a

seasonally adjusted basis, posting the first month-on-month rise in two months

after falling 0.3 point to 43.3 in June. The confidence level is considered

fairly high but the index has shown ups and downs in the past several months.

The government maintained its assessment, saying confidence was "picking up."

     * Consumers were more pessimistic about all four key aspects that affect

their sentiment -- overall economic well-being, income gains, job prospects and

whether it would be a good time to buy durable goods over the next six months.

     * "At the core of the rise in consumer confidence is the weak yen and

higher stock prices," said Toshimi Nishizaki, director of the Department of

Business Statistics at the Cabinet Office. "Consumers also saw the prices for

household goods were stable in July. While the prices for beer had already gone

up, those for vegetables and mobile phones were lower."

     * There is also demand for replacing automobiles and other durable goods

that were purchased with the help of government subsidies for fuel-efficient

cars and electronics, she said.

     * The index on asset prices, which is not one of the four sub-indexes used

to calculate overall consumer confidence, showed its first month-on-month rise

in two months, up 1.8 points in July after dipping 0.3 point the previous month.

     * The survey also showed that the public's inflation expectations for 12

months ahead fell in July. The share of those projecting price rises decreased

to 75.8% from 79.2% in June. It was the first drop in two months. The share of

respondents forecasting lower prices increased to 4.2% from 3.7%, the first rise

in two months. The pace of the year-on-year rise in the consumer price index has

been slow.

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-4670-5309; email: max.sato@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: vince.morkri@marketnews.com

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