Abenomics Is Dead – Japanese Data Collapses Across The Board
With recent JPY strength not helping, last week ended on a down-note for Japan as its jobless rate ticked up from 3.1% to 3.3% (the biggest rise since January) and Household spending collapsed. However, as the last week of the year begins, things have not improved as a double whammy of awfulness just hit the shores of Abe’s nation with retail sales (worst since the tsunami) and industrial production ugly and missing across the board. We are sure, of course, that just one more dose of faith-based QE will fix this.
Household Spending has been a disaster…
And Retail Sales is therefore terrible… (away from the effects of the pre- and post-tax hike moves, this is the worst monthtly drop in Retail Sales since The 2011 Tsunami!!!)
And so Industrial Production is lagging…
So to summarize – with JPY strength amid carry unwinds, Kuroda worriedly stuck on the sidelines, and global economic collapse, Japan’s Abenomics ‘program’ just created the following disaster trhee years later:
- Household Spending plunges 2.9% YoY – worst since March (post-tax-hike)
- Jobless Rate jumps to 3.3% (from 3.1%)
- Industrial Production drops 1.0% MoM – worst in 3 months
- Retail Trade tumbles 1.0% YoY – biggest drop since March (post-tax-hike)
- Retail Sales plunges 2.5% MoM – Worst drop since Fukushima Tsunami (absent tax-hike)
But apart from that – everything is awesome.
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Finally, in the interests of keeping things light over the holiday period, we note that when asked if this means trouble ahead for President Shinzo Abe, he allegedly replied “Depends.”
