Japan household spending rises 2.3% in August, beating expectations

Japan's household spending increased in August compared with a year earlier, while the country's foreign reserves also grew in September, official data showed on Tuesday.

According to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, average monthly consumption expenditures per two-or-more-person households rose 2.3% in real terms in August year-on-year, up from a 1.4% increase in July.

The latest reading beat the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 1.2% growth.

Spending on food, which accounted for the largest proportion of spending, declined 1.2%. Meanwhile, housing fell 0.7% as fuel, light, and water charges grew 4.7%.

Separately, the Ministry of Finance reported that Japan's total foreign reserves reached USD1.341 trillion at the end of September, up 1.3% from USD1.324 trillion at the end of August.

Gold increased 12% to USD104.05 billion from USD93.27 billion.