In Japanese Cabinet Office’s monthly report, general economic assessment was held unchanged. That is, the economy is “recovering at a moderate pace”. It also maintained that “private consumption is picking up”, “business investment is increasing”, “industrial production is increasing moderately”, “corporate profits are improving”, “employment situation is improving steadily”, and “consumer prices are rising at a slower tempo recently”.
However, exports are somewhat downgraded from “pausing recently” to “almost flat”. The report maintained the urged that “attention should be given to the effects of situations over trade issues on the world economy, the uncertainty in overseas economies and the effects of fluctuations in the financial and capital markets. ”
On prices, the report noted “the Government expects the Bank of Japan to achieve the price stability target of two percent in light of economic activity and prices. ”
Yen surges broadly today but that’s mainly due to risk aversion as Nikkei closed down -604.04 pts or -2.67%.