Japan's household spending falls 1.8% in May on higher prices

Japan's household spending in May dropped a real 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the first decline in two months, as rising prices prompted people to cut back on food outlays and a weak yen discouraged travel abroad, government data showed Friday.Average spending by households with two or more people stood at 290,328 yen ($1,800), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The drop followed a 0.5 percent rise in April, which was the first increase in 14 months.The average monthly income of salaried households with at least two people rose 3.0 percent in real terms to 500,231…READ FULL ARTICLE