Japanese manufacturers' sentiment slipped in January:
- Japan manufacturers index +6 in January vs +9 in December
- Non-manufacturers index +27 in January (vs +18 in December)
- Manufacturers April index seen at +6, non-manufacturers +23
The result for the survey of manufacturers show sentiment slipped, and the outlook for 3 months ahead show its expected to stay down
Citing
- Deepening China-led global slowdown & market turmoil
- Index weighed on by exporting industries such as steel, electric machinery and precision machinery
Service-sector sentiment improved but is seen falling in the 3-month outlook
- First improvement in three months
- Led by retailers, real estate/construction and information/communications firms
Some respondent comments:
"Although shipments to domestic clients slightly rose and U.S.-bound shipments held firm, shipping to Asia remains low and those to China in particular are falling a lot," a manager at a rubber maker
"Large-scale capital expenditures are declining within and outside Japan. Manufacturers as a whole appear to take a gloomy view of the future," a manager at an electronics maker
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The monthly Reuters Tankan closely tracks the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey.
Its a poll of 514 big and mid-sized Japanese companies between January 5 & 15, 272 responded