Japan’s Consumer confidence up for third consecutive month in March

April 19, 2010
By Ken Worsley

According to data released today by the Cabinet Office, Japan’s Consumer Confidence Index rose by 1.1 point to 40.9 in March, showing an increase for the third consecutive month¹. The 40.9 score was the highest seen since October 2007, when the index stood at 42.8. The index also crossed the 40 point mark for the first time since October of last year, after this past winter’s dip below 40.
The consumer confidence index itself contains five scores, each of which is considered positive when above 50, and pessimistic when below the 50 mark. Here’s a breakdown for March figures, with the change from the previous month:

• Consumer Confidence Index: 40.9 (+1.1)
• Overall Livelihood: 41.2 (+0.5)
• Income Growth: 39.5 (+0.7)
• Employment: 35.9 (+1.7)
• Willingness to buy durable goods: 46.8 (+1.4)

As in January and February, the index showed an increase in all five categories, and the large gain in willingness to buy durable goods ensured that it retained the highest score of any category.
The largest jump was seen in employment, as also happened in February. Although this is a bright spot in the CCI data, and the employment score is now 17.6 points higher than a year ago, it remains the lowest of the five categories.
Rising confidence in employment seems to be buttressed in part by increased demand for exports to other Asian nations. Whether or not this demand can be sustained will remain an important factor in how consumer sentiment data plays out over the middle and later part of this year.
¹ As far as we know, the Cabinet Office still allows links to their website.