-- Japan's consumer confidence weakened in April, while expectations for higher prices edged up, according to government survey data released Friday.
The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index fell 1.1 points from the previous month to 32.2. The survey, conducted on April 15, covered 8,400 households and had a response rate of 75.5%.
Among key components, the index for overall livelihood dropped 1.5 points to 28.2, while willingness to buy durable goods fell 2.8 points to 23.2. The employment outlook slipped 0.2 points to 37.4, and income growth expectations were unchanged at 39.8.
Price expectations strengthened, with 93.6% of respondents expecting prices to rise over the next year, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month.
Those expecting prices to remain unchanged accounted for 2.3%, down 0.4 points, while the share expecting prices to fall was also 2.3%, down 0.2 points.