Japanese Indicators
CPI, or National Consumer Price Index, is the key inflation measure in Japan. It reflects changes to the price of a designated ‘average basket’ of goods and services, just like in other countries.
CPI is used as the basis for monetary policymaking by the Bank of Japan. Within the main release, ‘CPI excluding fresh food’ is often focused on by markets, since it excludes volatile and potentially distortional food prices.
The figures are released monthly, in the last week of the month following the period covered.
See the Japanese government statistics website for more information.
The Japanese GDP release measures the value of the total production of goods and services in the Japanese economy. The headline figures are annualised percentage changes in real and nominal (non-inflation adjusted) GDP.
While surprises are rare, even small deviations from expectations can have an impact on markets.
There are two ‘estimates’ published each quarter, with a month between them. The first of these is released in the second month following the end of the quarter.
See the Japanese government statistics website for more information.
The Industrial Production Index reveals the volume of goods produced by Japan’s mining and manufacturing industries. It is a widely studied leading indicator that can help predict future movements in the general health of the economy.
The monthly releases are issued in preliminary form, and then in revised form two weeks later. The release is published monthly, one month after the reporting month. It is revised two weeks later.
See the Japanese government statistics website for more information.
This release tracks the total value of machinery orders placed at leading manufacturers in Japan. The survey is held to provide an early view of trends in corporate capital spending. Favourable figures are often seen as a sign of a healthy business outlook.
The figures are released monthly, in the middle of the second month following the reporting period.
See the Japanese Cabinet Office website for more information.
Money Supply (aka Money Stock)
This release contains various different measures of the money supply (i.e. the amount of money in circulation in the economy).
These are similar to US and European measures and are defined as M1, M1+CDs (Certificates of Deposit), M3+CDs and Broadly-defined Liquidity.
The data is released monthly, in the second week of the month following the period covered.
See the Bank of Japan website for more information.
Retail Sales (aka Retail Trade)
This release measures the total value of goods and services sold over the month in Japanese retail outlets. The figures are seen as a good indicator of the overall state of the economy and as such have a tendency to affect markets upon publication.
The headline figure is the year-on-year percentage change in the value of products sold. The figures are released monthly, in the month following the month covered by the data.
The widely-followed Tankan Index is a measure of business confidence in Japan. The Index is derived from a survey of firms who are asked whether they regard business conditions as favourable, not so favourable or unfavourable.
It can be positive or negative, denoting prevailing optimism or pessimism respectively, and is broken down into two categories: Manufacturing firms and non-Manufacturing firms.
The Index is released quarterly, on the first Monday after the period covered.
See the Bank of Japan website for more information.
Wholesale Price Index (aka Domestic CGPI)
This index tracks prices of goods purchased by Japanese corporations. Since the costs faced by companies are related to the prices they ultimately charge consumers, there is a relationship between rises in the CGPI and the CPI, and so this release has the potential to move markets.
The CGPI is released monthly, on the eighth business day of the following month.
See the Japanese government statistics website for more information.