Japanese consumer confidence worsened in February amid a decline in the country’s corporate performance and China’s economic slowdown, the Cabinet Office said, downgrading its assessment of the index for the second consecutive month.
Another survey, also released by the office on Tuesday, showed business confidence among workers with jobs sensitive to economic conditions, such as shop clerks, taxi drivers and restaurant employees, deteriorating for the second straight month due to falls in stock prices and a strong yen.
In the consumer confidence survey, the seasonally adjusted index of sentiment among households made up of two or more people fell 2.4 points from January to 40.1, down for the second straight month and registering the sharpest decline since October 2013, the office said. A reading below 50 suggests pessimists outnumber optimists.