BOJ to introduce new consumption index
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's central bank said on Monday it will introduce a broad index of private consumption that it will base its policy assumptions upon, in addition to the government's existing monthly household spending data series.
The new index will measure the strength of consumer spending based on supply-side data, such as retail sales and surveys on corporate business activity, and would have a strong correlation to consumer sentiment surveys and Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) data, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said.
The BOJ will begin releasing the new index this month.
The government currently uses its household spending data to calculate Japan's GDP. But some lawmakers and analysts have criticised the data, which is compiled from a survey of roughly 9,000 households, for being distorted because of its small sample base.
Household spending fell 5.3 percent in March from a year earlier, declining at the fastest pace in a year.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Sam Holmes)
