AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,941 Increased By 63.6 (0.92%)
BR30 22,802 Increased By 233 (1.03%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)

TOKYO: Japan's household spending recorded its worst drop in nearly two decades in April, government data showed Friday, as the world's third-largest economy reels from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Spending fell 11.1 percent from a year earlier, with a sales tax hike last year adding to woes, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry.

The figure was largely in line with market expectations of a 12.75 percent drop, and marked the seventh straight month of declines since the government hiked the sales tax in October.

"The new coronavirus is having a serious impact on the economy including spending by individuals," chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a regular briefing.

"We think it is necessary for us to return to regular economic activities step by step while taking counter-infection measures, as businesses are trying to survive the current situation," added Suga, the top government spokesman.

The April drop was partly attributed to declines in spending on transport and telecommunications, as well as on leisure activities.

It is the worst decline since comparable data became available in 2001.

The latest figures come after official data last month confirmed Japan dived into its first recession since 2015, shrinking by 0.9 percent in January-March as it wrestles with the fallout from the coronavirus.

The drop in gross domestic product followed a 1.9 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2019 as the tax hike and typhoons hit Japan hard - even before the pandemic shut down much of the economy.

Fears about the economic impact of the virus have shaken global and Japanese financial markets, and the Bank of Japan last month expanded its emergency monetary easing and cut growth forecasts for the country.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2020

Comments

Comments are closed.