Japan’s virus-beaten household spending recovers in October

Japan had seen its household spending advanced in October, the first expansion in over a year, data showed on Tuesday. The growth indicates a mild recovery after the country’s economy was ravaged by the coronavirus crisis.

Household spending jumped 1.9% in October year-on-year, placing weaker than the 2.5% increase predicted by analysts. While it failed to breach the forecast, the figure came as the very first jump the country had seen in 13 months.

According to separate data, the world’s third-largest economy grew more than what was previously estimated in the third quarter. This could be attributed to resilient exports and consumption that were initially impacted by coronavirus-related lockdowns.

However, a recent upsurge in new COVID-19 cases overshadowed the outlook, bringing in more pressure for policymakers to nurse a weak economic recovery with massive monetary and fiscal stimulus schemes.