REPEAT: MNI 5 THINGS: Japan Mar Consumer Confidence Flat

--Govt Keeps View: Consumer Confidence Marking Time

     TOKYO (MNI) - The key points from the latest monthly Consumer Confidence

Survey of households with two or more people conducted on March 15 and released

by the Cabinet Office on Monday.

     * Japan's consumer confidence index was unchanged at 44.3 in March on a

seasonally adjusted basis, after falling 0.3 points to a five-month low of 44.3

in February. While the recent surge in fresh vegetable prices eased in March,

electricity and gas bills rose in the month. Households have been also hit by

higher costs for home delivery services which have been caused by labor

shortages. The stock markets remained volatile after a global sell-off in

February.

     * The government maintained its assessment, saying, "Consumer confidence is

marking time," Last month it downgraded its view for the second straight month.

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

affect their sentiment -- overall economic well-being and income gains. The

sub-index on job prospects rebounded slightly after marking a rare drop in the

previous month. The sub-index on whether it would be a good time to buy durable

goods over the next six months posted the first rise in four months.

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

calculate overall consumer confidence, showed the second straight month-on-month

drop, down 0.8 points in March after slumping 2.0 points the previous month.

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

months ahead marked the second straight monthly drop. The share of those

projecting price rises decreased to 79.8% in March from 81.3% in February. The

share of respondents forecasting lower prices decreased to 3.6% from 4.0%.

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