Japan's household spending increased by a real 1.3 percent in April from a year earlier to average 335,364 yen, the Management and Coordination Agency said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
The rise in average household spending follows a real 4.3 percent fall in March and a real 4.2 percent increase in February.
Household spending on transportation and communications gained 25.4 percent, reflecting the increased sale of higher-priced automobiles and the popularity of mobile phones, an official said.
But expenditures for furniture and household goods fell 15.6 percent, while spending on clothing dropped 9.5 percent and outlays on rent shrank 6.3 percent.
Wage-earning families -- which accounted for about 60 percent of the 7,817 households that responded to the survey -- spent an average 366,300 yen in April, up 3.6 percent in real terms from a year before.
Average monthly income remained unchanged at 504,287 yen, with disposable income gaining 3.2 percent to 424,185 yen.
The ratio of household spending to disposable income came to an index reading of 71.9 for wage-earning families in April against the 1995 base of 100, up from 70.8 in March.
Spending by other households averaged 287,990 yen in April, down 2.7 percent in real terms.