Japanese household spending fell 3.3% in June from a year earlier, marking a seventh consecutive monthly decline and undershooting market expectations for a 1% increase, government data showed.
Spending by households of two or more people totalled 290,886 yen on a seasonally adjusted basis, decreasing 6.4% from May, far steeper than the estimated 3.1% drop. Transport costs slumped 20.8% and clothing fell 19.9%, while food spending dipped 2.5%. Poor weather and one fewer holiday than last year reduced outings and spending on beverages and dining out. The average propensity to consume shrank to 38.3%, down 3.3 percentage points.
Despite the spending weakness, real wages rose 1.6%, extending a six-month streak of gains, while real income for worker households climbed 2.0%.