Japan’s households cut spending for a second month as inflation continues to deter consumption, backing the case for the Bank of Japan to take a cautious approach to rate hikes.
Outlays by households dropped 1.1% from a year earlier in September, compared with the consensus estimate of a 1.8% decrease, after sliding 1.9% in the previous month, according to a report by the internal affairs ministry released Friday.
Outlays have now risen only twice in the past 12 months.
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