Consumption Activity Index
Private consumption makes up roughly 60 percent of total GDP. Therefore, a timely and precise assessment of the developments in private consumption is deemed important for making judgments on business cycles in the macroeconomy.
From this viewpoint, research data titled "Consumption Activity Index (CAI)" is provided on a regular basis in the following. The CAI is compiled by using a variety of sales and supply-side statistics on goods and services as its source statistics and is provided as a measure for capturing short-term consumption activity on both monthly and quarterly bases. The CAI traces movements of consumption in the household side of the economy, much like those in the Annual Report on National Accounts (ARNA) -- which represents consumption activity in Japan in the most comprehensive manner -- but is made available in a more timely fashion. The CAI shows only small fluctuations emanating from samples rotations, and also exhibits a high correlation with a number of confidence survey measures.
Various versions of the CAI are available -- nominal and real indexes as well as indexes with and without adjustments of travel balance -- and they are designed to meet various analytical needs.
The first data set will be released at 2:00 p.m. on May 13, 2016. After that, they will, in principle, be released at 2:00 p.m. on the fifth business day of each month; however, these release schedules are subject to change.
Details on the compilation methodology are available in the following research paper.
Research Data
| Date | Title | Data |
|---|---|---|
| Sep. 7, 2016 | Chart | [PDF 27KB] |
| Sep. 7, 2016 | Data | [ZIP 14KB] |
Explanation and Related Materials
Research Paper
Background Data
Background data used for compiling the CAI are made public in order to stimulate discussions and gather comments on the validity of the CAI from a wide range of users with interests in economic and financial developments, which in turn should facilitate to improve the CAI on an ongoing basis.
Notice
Charts and data available here are provided to inform some of the Bank of Japan's research and analysis to a wide range of users with interests in economic and financial developments.
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Inquiries
Economic Assessment and Projection Group,
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Tel : +81-3-3279-1111
