Japan’s Nishimura: Decline in consumer demand is not as big as the previous sales tax hike

Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura was on the wires last minutes, via Reuters, noting that the decline in consumer demand is not as big as the previous sales tax hike.

Last month, he had expressed his concerns over the negative impact of the sales tax hike on the Japanese consumer sentiment.

• Japan’s Nishimura: There are worries sales tax hike may weigh on consumer sentiment

Despite the drop in the S&P 500 futures and Treasury yields in early dealing, the USD/JPY pair appears to have caught fresh bids, as the bulls now look to test the 5-DMA barrier at 109.16 amid a positive start to the Japanese equities.