Inflation 2.4%; Production Rises

123jump.com Staff
29 Aug, 2008
New York City

The Statistics Bureau in Japan reported on its Web site today that the consumer price index in Japan rose 0.2% from the previous month and gained 2.3% from a year earlier. In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 index rose 2.4% today and added 3.2% for the week and dropped 2.3% for the month, and the broader Topix Index rose 2.9% in the session. Industrial production rose 0.9% in July after it fell 2.2% in June. Nisshinbo Industries led advancers in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a rise of 10.47%.

[R]5:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Japan’s inflation rate increase 2.4% in July. Industrial production increased 0.9% in July, bolstering stocks.[/R]

Market Sentiment

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 rose 2.4% or 304.62 to 13,072.87, rising 3.2% for the week and dropping 2.3% for the month, and the broader Topix Index rose 2.9% or 35.18 to 1,254.71. An unexpected rise in industrial production in July at 0.9% lifted sentiment in trading.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 17 billion shares worth 2 trillion yen were traded and in the section 391 million shares valued at 3.9 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 stocks 213 rose, 9 declined, and 3 were unchanged. Nisshinbo led advancers in the index shares with a rise of 10.47%.

Japan’s Inflation Rate Rises to 2.4% in July

The Statistics Bureau in Japan reported on its Web site today that the consumer price index in Japan in July rose 0.2% from the previous month and gained 2.4% from a year earlier at 102.4. Prices in June rose at 1.9% rate compared to a year ago.

Food prices fell 0.2% in the month but rose 3.5% on the year; housing spiked 0.8% and 3.5% for them month and year correspondingly; fuel, light and water charges gained 2.3% from the previous month and 9.3% from a year earlier; furniture and household utensils soared 0.3% and 0.4% from the previous month and year respectively.

Also clothes and footwear shed 3.9% from a month ago and increased 0.3% from the year-ago period; medical care was unchanged for the month but fell 0.3% from last year; transport and communications gained 1.4% in the month and soared 5.2% from a year ago, while prices for reading and recreation rose 0.5% from the previous month but dipped 0.3% for the year.

The consumer price index for the Ku-area in Japan, which is a yardstick of general prices in Japan rose 0.1% from the previous month and 1.3% from a year ago to 101.6 in August.

Food prices in the area declined 0.4% for the month and rose 1.7% for the year, while housing was unchanged in the month but edged up 0.5% from last year; fuel, light and water charges advanced 0.1% and 5.9% respectively.

However furniture and household utensils fell 0.2% from July and 1% from a year ago. Clothes and footwear slid 1.3% from the previous month and increased 0.6% from the year ago period.

Transportation and communication gained 0.6% from the previous month and spiked 2.6% from a year ago and reading and recreation rose 1.8% from the previous month and declined 0.2% from the previous year.

Separately the statistics bureau reported that the number of employed persons in July fell 0.8% to 64.06 million, while the number of unemployed persons in the same month increased 9.4% to 2.56 million.

Seasonally adjusted the rate was 4%.

According to the bureau, the average amount of monthly consumption expenditures per two-or-more-person household rose 2.3% in nominal terms and dropped 0.5% in real terms to 298,360 yen in July.

Also the average amount of monthly income per household fell 0.8% in nominal terms and dipped 3.5% in real terms from the previous year to 587,732 yen.

In addition, the amount of consumption expenditures increased 2.7% in nominal terms and declined 0.1% in real terms from a year ago to 330,483 yen.

U.S Economy Rises 3.3% in Q2

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on its Web site today that the economy rose 3.3% in the second quarter of 2008 on high exports that were buoyed by a weak dollar.

Economists had estimated that the economy would rise by 1.9%.

Exports grew at an annualized rate of 13.2%, beating the government’s projections of 9.2%, while imports slumped 7.6% on slowing economic growth. Consumer spending rose by 1.7% from 1.5% the previous quarter leveraged by the government’s $600 tax rebate.

[Gainers & Losers

Nisshinbo Industries led advancers in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a rise of 10.47% followed by increases in Citizen Holdings of 8.43%, in Okuma Corp. of 7.72%, in T&D Holdings of 6.81%, and Chiyoda Corp. of 6.13%.

Fujifilm led decliners in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a fall of 12.43% followed by losses in Advantest Corp. of 0.86%, in Shionogi Co. of 0.80%, in OJI Paper of 0.52% and Meiji Seika of 0.39%.