TOKYO, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Japan's household spending unexpectedly dropped in July from a year earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a report on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, household spending edged down 0.2 percent in July from a year earlier after rising to a two-year high in June.
The statistics bureau said that the average monthly expenditure per household in Japan was 279,197 yen (2,563 U.S. dollars) in July, which was up 0.4 percent in nominal terms, but down 0.2 percent in real terms from the previous year.
The figure came in well below median economists' forecasts for a 0.7 percent increase and casts a shadow over recent government statements that the economy is experiencing a domestic demand-driven recovery.
The average monthly income per household, meanwhile, stood at 598,042 yen (5,496 U.S. dollars), the bureau said, increasing 4.1 percent in nominal terms and rising 3.5 percent in real terms from the previous year.
Average consumption expenditure per household stood at 308,818 yen (2,838 U.S. dollars) in the recording period, rising 2.1 percent in nominal terms and increasing 1.5 percent in real terms from the previous year, the ministry's statistics bureau said.
