Japan manufacturers' mood hits 3-year low

Tokyo

JAPANESE manufacturers' mood soured in August to its lowest since 2013 when the central bank embarked on aggressive monetary easing, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, highlighting the weakness in an economy facing declining exports and sluggish consumer spending.

The Reuters Tankan, which tracks the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan, came on top of recent data showing exports in July tumbled the most since the last global financial crisis, and that economic growth stalled in April-June.

It underscores the challenge facing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to boost growth as his recipe of bold monetary stimulus, fiscal spending and structural reforms - dubbed "Abenomics" - has struggled to pull the economy out of deflation and low …