MNI DATA IMPAT: BOJ Consumption Index Rebounds In May

     TOKYO (MNI) - The Bank of Japan's Consumption Activity Index rose for the

first time in three months in May, up 1.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, data

released Tuesday showed.

     The data showed private consumption rebounded in May after the

coronavirus-driven weakness in March and April. 

The consumption index is expected to rise again in June as the government lifted

the state of emergency in late May, although it is unlikely to pick up quickly

as people remain socially distancing.

Japan's real average household spending fell 16.2% y/y in May for an eighth

straight decline, the data showed. It was the largest fall since comparable data

became available in 2001.

     The BOJ's Consumption Activity Index is designed to forecast revised

private consumption, not act as a preliminary estimate. The Cabinet Office will

release the second revised Q2 GDP on Aug. 3.

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

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$A$$$,M$J$$$]