- Spokeswoman for Mizuho
Consumer confidence in Japan, the world's third biggest economy, declined for a third consecutive month in October, according to Cabinet Office, as consumers fear that the nation's first sales tax hike in almost two decades, which was implemented in April, is hitting their spending power. The confidence index, which includes views on income and jobs, dropped to 38.9 in October from 39.9 a month earlier, whereas economists had expected a reading of 40.5. It was the lowest reading since April.
A separate report showed Japan's current account surplus unexpectedly rose three-fold in September, recording a third straight monthly surplus, as export growth outperformed import, while the balance on income from investments abroad improved. Account surplus expanded to 963.0 billion yen and was 61.9% wider than a year ago, Ministry of Finance said. Exports soared 11.6% year-on-year in September, while imports surged 10.4% over the same period; however, imports were still 700 billion more than exports in September. On October 31 the BoJ unexpectedly announced that it would increase the size of its QQE programme, in a attempt to keep inflationary pressures in Japan rising. The move immediately weakened the Japanese Yen. A weaker Yen is generally beneficial for Japan's export industry, which either gains higher earnings from overseas sales, or is able to increase competitiveness
© Dukascopy Bank SA
© Dukascopy Bank SA