Asia Times: The worst is yet to come, say consumers



	January 15, 2000	atimes.com

Japan

The worst is yet to come, say consumers

TOKYO - The index of consumer anxiety in December worsened by 5 points from October to 136, a consumer sentiment survey released by Nippon Research Institute has found.

The index measuring the outlook over the next year was the first deterioration in eight months. An official at the institute, which is affiliated with the Economic Planning Agency said: ''Expectations of economic recovery were dented by the sharply appreciated yen.'' The survey was conducted from late November to early December, when the dollar fell to the 101 yen level, the lowest level in about four years.

The ratio of consumers who said ''life will get better'' or ''improve slightly'' fell from October. Those who said ''life will get worse'' rose from the October survey to 11.6%. The number who expressed concern about losing their jobs accounted for 66.9% of respondents, up 2.8 percentage points.

The index is calculated based on a five-point scale of expectations over the next year taking into consideration trends in the economy, employment, income, prices and other factors. Consumers have a choice of five answers ranging from ''things will get better'' to ''things will get worse''. An index above 100 indicates that a majority of respondents expect their circumstances to worsen.

(Asia Pulse/Nikkei)

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