Japan Data Response Industrial Production (Apr.) Even though firms are projecting a renewed fall in May and June, the jump in industrial production in April bodes well for GDP growth in the second quarter. 31st May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Unemployment & Consumer Spending (Apr.) Strong gains in retail sales and “core” household spending in April suggest that private consumption is on track for another solid increase in the second quarter. Meanwhile, employment growth remains... 30th May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Consumer Prices (Apr.) The main inflation gauges all edged up in April and should climb further in coming months. But with the boost from higher energy prices set to fizzle out in the second half of the year, inflation will... 26th May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Flash Manufacturing PMI (May) The rather sharp fall in the manufacturing PMI in May suggests that the economic recovery may now be slowing again. Meanwhile, price pressures remain subdued. 23rd May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response External trade (Apr.) The trade surplus fell to a fresh low in April which suggests that net trade should have provided less support to economic activity in the second quarter. But the bigger picture is that external... 22nd May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response GDP (Q1 Preliminary) Japan’s economy is on its longest streak of expansion in more than a decade. However, growth in labour income has weakened sharply and we expect a slowdown in GDP growth in the second half of the year... 18th May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders (Mar.) Combined with the drop in capital goods shipments, the decline in machinery orders in Q1 suggests that investment spending weakened last quarter. Nonetheless, we still expect tomorrow’s preliminary... 17th May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey (Apr.) Despite an improvement in April, today’s Economy Watchers Survey remains consistent with falling manufacturing activity. It also points to a slowdown in job growth, though the survey has not been a... 11th May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Labour Cash Earnings (Mar.) The first fall in labour cash earnings since last May underlines the challenges the Bank of Japan is facing in lifting inflation to 2%. With wages growing no faster than labour productivity, much... 9th May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Consumer Confidence (Apr.) We are not too worried about the drop in consumer confidence in April as the index remains near multi-year highs. What’s more, the survey remains consistent with a rebound in durable goods consumption... 8th May 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Activity, Labour Market & Inflation (Mar.) Despite sharp falls in “core” household spending and industrial production in March, we expect GDP growth to accelerate from 0.3% q/q in Q4 to 0.7% in Q1. However, there is still no evidence that the... 28th April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Small Business Confidence (Apr.) While the decline in small business confidence in April can largely be attributed to seasonal patterns, the survey remains consistent with a stagnation in industrial output. What’s more, there are no... 26th April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Flash Manufacturing PMI (Apr.) The manufacturing PMI remained at a high level in April and suggests that the sector had a strong start to the second quarter. What’s more, there are mounting signs that price pressures are... 21st April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response External trade (Mar.) Export values slumped in March as distortions related to the Lunar New Year unwound. Nonetheless, we still expect net exports to provide another boost to Q1 GDP growth. 20th April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Machinery Orders (Feb.) The rebound in machinery orders in February wasn’t strong enough to reverse the decline in January. But with capacity usage picking up, we expect business investment to expand at a robust pace this... 12th April 2017 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey (Mar.) Today’s Economy Watchers Survey jars with the upbeat message from other sentiment surveys. The survey also points to a further slowdown in job growth in coming months. 10th April 2017 · 1 min read
