Japan big manufacturers turn pessimistic in Q2, expect rebound in Q3: govt survey

[TOKYO] Big Japanese manufacturers turned pessimistic in April-June but they expect business conditions to improve in the following quarter, a government survey showed on Thursday, underscoring a patchy improvement in the economy.

The business survey index (BSI) of sentiment at large manufacturers was minus 6.0 in April-June, compared with plus 2.4 in the prior three months, according to the joint survey by the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office.

In July-September, big manufacturers expect the sentiment index to improve to plus 13.2, which is higher than plus 7.8 seen in the previous survey.

The BSI measures the percentage of firms that expect the business environment to improve from the previous quarter minus the percentage that expect it to worsen. Positive figures mean optimists outnumber pessimists.

Japanese firms plan to raise capital spending by 5.9 per cent in the current business year that started in April, the survey also showed, which compares with a 3.9 per cent decline seen in the previous poll.

REUTERS