Japan Q4 GDP Revised Down on Lower Inventories; No Major Change To Solid Capex, Consumption

By Max Sato Gradual Economic Recovery Seen After Pullback in Q1 (MaceNews) – Japan’s economy posted the second straight quarter-on-quarter expansion in October-December but at a slightly slower pace than previously reported, as the decline in private-sector inventories turned out to sharper than initially estimated, Cabinet Office data released Tuesday showed. There was no major […]

Japan Jan Household Spending Plunges As Govt Urges Restrictions To Fight Pandemic

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending posted a sharper-than-expected drop in January as the government called for restricted economic activity to slow the spread of the pandemic, data released Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. Expenditures on eating out and traveling are estimated to have remained weak for the […]

Japan MOF Survey Shows Q4 Capex Drop Slows; GDP Revision Seen Limited

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Business investment in equipment by many Japanese companies stayed below year-earlier levels in the October-December quarter, but the pace of decline decelerated as firms gradually resumed spending on factories and systems during the pandemic, a quarterly survey by the Ministry of Finance released Tuesday showed. This and other pieces of […]

Japan Jan Factory Output Rebounds But Pullback Forecast For Feb/Mar

– Shipments Also Rebound, Inventories Dip, Reflecting Solid Demand – METI: Limited Impact of Govt’s Request for Restricted Economic Activity By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production rebounded in January, marking the first rise in three months, reflecting solid domestic and overseas demand despite the pandemic, preliminary data released Friday by the Ministry of […]

Japan Feb Tokyo CPI Shows Small Drop As Food, Energy Downtrend Eases

– Weak Energy Still Key Factor Behind Year-on-Year CPI Decline – Government Has Suspended Travel Discounts but Hotels Cut Prices Amid Slump By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Consumer prices in Tokyo, a leading indicator of the national average, were little changed in February from January, leading to a smaller year-on-year drop in key measures as […]

Japan Government Downgrades View: Economy Picking Up, But ‘Weakness in Some Areas’

— Consumption Slower Amid Pandemic While Capex Playing Catchup — Japan Sees Pickup in Global Demand, Upgrading Views on S. Korea, Indonesia By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s government Friday downgraded its overview on the domestic economy for the first time since last April, when the first wave of COVID-19 infections prompted shorter business hours […]

Japan Jan CPI Y/Y Drop Shrinks on Suspended Travel Discounts Amid Pandemic

— Lower Energy Costs Remain Key Factor Behind Weak Consumer Prices By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The energy-led downtrend in Japanese consumer prices eased substantially in January as the government suspended discounts on leisure traveling amid surging new coronavirus cases, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication released Friday showed. The improvement was […]

JAPAN DEC HOUSEHOLD SPENDING SLIPS Y/Y BUT OCT-DEC GAIN POINTS TO Q4 GDP GROWTH

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending in December suffered the first year-on-year drop in three months, albeit modest, as more people turned cautious about eating out and traveling outside their areas, data released Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. But the key indicator of private consumption marked the second […]