MNI 5 THINGS: Japan Feb Consumer Confidence Down on Stocks

--Govt Downgrades View for 2nd Straight Month: Confidence Stalling

     TOKYO (MNI) - Key points from the latest monthly Consumer Confidence Survey

of households with two or more people conducted on Feb. 15 and released by the

Cabinet Office on Thursday.

     * Japan's consumer confidence index slipped 0.4 point to 44.3 in February

form 44.7 in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, posting the first

month-on-month drop in two months, as the global stock market sell-off seen

early in the month made people more cautious about the economic outlook. The

prices for fresh food and gasoline remained high, also dampening overall

consumer confidence.

     * The level of the index is still fairly high after hitting a four-year

high of 44.9 in November but the results of the survey prompted the government

to downgrade its view for the second straight month, saying, "Consumer

confidence is marking time." Last month, it said the pickup in confidence was

slower. It was the first time in two years that the government had revised down

its assessment of consumer confidence for the second month in a row.

     * Consumers were more pessimistic about three of the four key aspects that

affect their sentiment -- overall economic well-being, job prospects and whether

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

sub-index on income gains rebounded in February.

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

calculate overall consumer confidence, showed its first month-on-month fall in

two months, down 2.8 points in February after rising 1.6 points the previous

month.

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

months ahead marked the first drop in seven months. The share of those

projecting price rises decreased to 81.3% in February from 82.4% in January. The

share of respondents forecasting lower prices increased to 4.0% from 3.2%, the

first rise in two months.

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-2175-0040; email: hiroshi.inoue@marketnews.com

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

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