Household spending in Japan fell in November year on year for the ninth straight month. One reason was that people bought less food as vegetable prices kept on rising.

The internal affairs ministry said on Tuesday that households with two or more people spent an average of nearly 287,000 yen, or about 2,000 dollars. Adjusted for inflation, that was down nearly 2.9 percent from a year earlier.

Spending on food fell 1.2 percent. Officials said one reason was higher prices for fruit and vegetables. Housing-related outlays dropped by 20.9 percent.

Spending on communications dropped 7.1 percent, as people switched to low-cost mobile phone plans and bought fewer greeting cards for the New Year.