Another important factor in considering the future of domestic demand is the increase in firms’ business fixed investment. Turning to indexes related to consumption, private consumption remains resilient, but there is a sign of slowing in its growth momentum.
The household activity-related diffusion indexes (DIs) for current and future economic conditions in the Economy Watchers Survey, which seem to reflect consumer confidence, dropped for the fifth consecutive month since April 2013. This development is consistent with that of real consumption expenditure in the Family Income and Expenditure Survey. The sign of slowing in consumption is also reflected to the latest GDP statistics.