Big Japanese manufacturers remain pessimism at the end of the month, despite global slowdown TOKYO Reuters -- Big Japanese manufacturers remain pessimistic about business conditions for a third month in March, a closely watched survey showed concern about slowing global growth that could hurt the country's export engine.
The mixed results underscored the fragility of the world's No. The 3 economy as exports slow and private consumption that accounts for more than half of the economy, lacks momentum.
The central bank's survey on April 3 will show deterioration in business confidence at big manufacturers, as suggested by the Reuters Tankan, designed to closely track the Bank of Japan's key quarterly tankan survey.
Problems at some western banks added to the risks to external demand that already faces the impact of global tightening and a slowdown in China, Japan's biggest trading partner, while a weak yen boosts import costs of commodity-driven inflation.
A manager of a machinery maker wrote in a survey that the price hikes caused by the war in Ukraine and the U.S.-China trade frictions have made our clients cautious about capital expenditure.
The sentiment index for big manufacturers was minus 3, slightly higher from minus 5 seen in the previous month, according to the March 8 -- 17 survey conducted by the survey conducted March 8 - 17. The hardest hit industries included steel and textiles, as well as electrical machinery firms.
Compared with three months ago, the manufacturers' index was down 11 points, suggesting worsening of sentiment in the BOJ tankan's headline manufacturers index.
The Reuters Tankan index is expected to rebound to plus 10 over the next three months.
The large service sector firms' index rebounded to plus 21 in March from plus 17 seen in the previous month. The index is expected to fall to plus 16 in June.
The Reuters Tankan, which closely monitors the central bank's quarterly tankan survey, polled 493 large companies with a capital base of 1 billion yen, employing 100 or more people.
The Reuters Tankan indexes are calculated by subtracting the percentage of pessimistic respondents from optimistic ones.