Weak consumer confidence, BoJ pre-emptive easing?

The recent slump in consumer confidence underlines that consumer spending will fall sharply after October’s sales tax hike. But it doesn’t tell us much about the extent of the slowdown and the fact that households haven’t brought forward spending on durable goods on a major scale supports our view that consumption will hold up better than after previous tax hikes. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda provided no indication that interest rates will be lowered at the upcoming Board meeting.