Japan business confidence slips in June survey – BoJ

Workers assemble an engine section onto a fourth-generation Toyota Prius car on the production line at the company’s Tsutsumi assembly plant in Toyota City, Aichi prefecture on December 8, 2017. AFP FILE

TOKYO, Japan – Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers has slipped for the second straight quarter, a key central bank survey showed on Monday.

The Bank of Japan’s Tankan report — a quarterly survey of about 10,000 companies — showed a reading of 21 among major manufacturers in its June survey against 24 in the March report.

The Tankan report, the broadest indicator of how Japan Inc is faring, marks the difference between the percentage of firms that are upbeat and those that see conditions as unfavorable.

The latest reading is slightly lower than market expectations of 22, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

The survey came after solid job market-linked data released on Friday, including Japan’s jobless rate in May that slumped to a 26-year low. /cbb