Japan Manufacturer Sentiment Strangely Improves

Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers improved in June for the first time in seven quarters, rising to 5 from 1 in March, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said, amid the easing of COVID-related supply bottlenecks and falling raw material costs, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: The hotel and restaurant sector turned optimistic, with the index rising sharply to 36 from 0, improving to the highest level since comparable data became available in 2004.

The reading of the key index measuring confidence among companies such as those in the auto and electronics sectors beat the average market forecast of 3 in a Kyodo News survey.

The index for large nonmanufacturers, including the service sector, rose to 23 from 20 in the previous survey, the highest reading since June 2019.

Service providers continued to benefit from the lifting of anti-coronavirus curbs and a revival of inbound tourism. The hotel and restaurant sector turned optimistic, with the index rising sharply to 36 from 0, improving to the highest level since comparable data became available in 2004.

The Tankan index represents the percentage of companies reporting favorable conditions minus the percentage reporting unfavorable ones, Mainichi Shimbun also reported.

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