TOKYO, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Household spending in Japan saw the second month of decline from a year earlier in June, government data showed on Tuesday.
Household spending in the reporting period fell 1.4 percent in real terms year on year, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Households of two or more people spent an average of 280,888 yen (about 1,925 U.S. dollars), with spending up 1.9 percent from the previous month on a nominal basis.
In breakdown, expenditures on home expenses went sharply down by 23.6 percent. Spending on utilities decreased by 7.3 percent, as families cut their power usage ahead of the end of government subsidies for electricity and gas bills.
Meanwhile, amid extremely high temperatures in June which promoted summer purchases such as air conditioning units, spending on furniture and other durable goods saw a 23.7 percent rise year on year, the data showed.
Despite a rise in real wages during the month, local analysts pointed out that people might be saving more, while noting the trend of reducing spending due to a frugal mindset persisted among local residents due to soaring prices.
Accounting for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product (GDP), household spending is a key gauge of private consumption in the country. ■
