MNI BRIEF: July Consumer Confidence Rises, Backs BOJ View

Japan's consumer confidence index posted its fifth straight rise in July, rising to 37.1 from June's 36.2, as all components improved from the previous month, prompting the Cabinet Office to upgrade its assessment and supporting the Bank of Japan's bright view on spending, data released by the Cabinet Office on Monday showed.

The BOJ said on Friday that government measures, such as those to reduce the household burden of higher gasoline prices, electricity and gas, will likely underpin private consumption. The Cabinet Office noted consumer spending showed signs of improvement, the first time it has used this wording since April 2013. The previous view was that consumer spending "is recovering."

The sub-index on asset prices, not included in calculating overall consumer confidence, stood at 44.1 in July, up from 43.2 in June. The data also showed that shares of respondents projecting consumer price gains fell to 92.8% in July from 93.2% in June, for the first drop in two months. The share of responses forecasting lower prices also fell to 2.1% from 2.4% in June.