Japan’s Wage Data Likely Solid Enough to Keep BOJ on Track
- Figures that avoid sampling issues show 2% wage gains
- Household spending falls on year for 10th straight month
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Japanese wage growth strengthened less than expected in December while still showing signs of sufficient underlying momentum to keep the Bank of Japan on track to end its negative rate regime in the coming months.
Nominal cash earnings rose 1.0% in December from the previous year, with the help of a 0.5% gain in winter bonuses, the labor ministry reported Tuesday. It was an acceleration versus a month earlier but trailed analysts’ expectations of a 1.4% gain. Growth was modest compared with a year earlier, when special allowances pushed up nominal wages by the biggest margin in 26 years.