MNI DATA BRIEF: June Data Sees More Upbeat Households In Japan

Household were more upbeat in the Bank of Japan's quarterly consumer survey released on Thursday, though the year-ahead outlook index fell for the first time in five quarters.

According to the survey, around 39.9% said income fell from a year earlier, lower than 41.9% in March. About 7.1% said income rose from a year earlier, up from 7.0% in March.

The BOJ's diffusion index improved for the third consecutive quarterly rise judging from incomes levels, media reports and business performance of the companies. But the consumer sentiment outlook index projecting conditions a year ahead fell for the first drop in five quarters, down 6.4 points to -14.9 in March.

The proportion of respondents expecting prices to rise next year stood at 66.8% in June, up from 62.4% in March. Just 4.3% of respondents said prices would fall next year, down from 6.1% three months earlier. The proportion of those expecting little change 12 months ahead fell to 27.2% from 30.6%. The median CPI forecast stood at +2.0%, unchanged from March.

The survey was conducted between May 7 and June 2. Of the 4,000 people polled, 2,321, or 58.0%, responded.