Housing investment has remained at a high level and business fixed investment is increasing steadily. While growth in personal consumption has been moderate on the whole, passenger car sales, which have a strong influence on production, have accelerated significantly. Meanwhile, inventories on the whole are at appropriate levels.
In these circumstances, industrial production has recently increased at a somewhat fast pace and labor market conditions have continued to improve moderately. Meanwhile, prices have stopped declining, and monetary aggregates continue to grow at 3.0 - 4.0 per cent. With regard to personal consumption, sales at department stores and supermarkets are improving moderately, albeit with some fluctuations. Outlays for travel have remained firm.