Japan's key economic gauge upwardly revised in May
TOKYO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A key gauge of Japan's current economic conditions in May was upwardly revised by the Cabinet Office on Wednesday, as supply chain disruptions and industrial output following the March disasters continue to improve.
The composite index of coincident indicators (CI) such as industrial output, retail sales and overtime working hours, which reflects current business conditions in Japan, rose from a preliminary reading of 106.0 points to 106.3 against the 2005 base of 100, a 2.7 point increase from April, the government said.
The reading marked the second straight month-on-month gain.
The revised data also showed the leading composite index, which measures the state of the economy three months ahead, rose 3.4 points to 99.6, dropping slightly from an initial rise of 3.6 points, but still gaining for a third month.
Meanwhile the lagging index, which reflects economic conditions three months in the past, stood at a revised 90.5 against the 2005 base of 100 and the preliminary 0.7 point gain in May was revised down to minus 0.4, the official data showed.
But while the revised lagging index booked its first decline in two months the office maintained it overall assessment on Japan's economy saying that it is "improving, but the three-month backward moving average went negative due to the Great East Japan Earthquake."
All 11 indices comprising the cabinet office's CI rose in May, most notably including those for industrial production, retail and commercial sales and shipments. (Xinhua)
The composite index of coincident indicators (CI) such as industrial output, retail sales and overtime working hours, which reflects current business conditions in Japan, rose from a preliminary reading of 106.0 points to 106.3 against the 2005 base of 100, a 2.7 point increase from April, the government said.
The reading marked the second straight month-on-month gain.
The revised data also showed the leading composite index, which measures the state of the economy three months ahead, rose 3.4 points to 99.6, dropping slightly from an initial rise of 3.6 points, but still gaining for a third month.
Meanwhile the lagging index, which reflects economic conditions three months in the past, stood at a revised 90.5 against the 2005 base of 100 and the preliminary 0.7 point gain in May was revised down to minus 0.4, the official data showed.
But while the revised lagging index booked its first decline in two months the office maintained it overall assessment on Japan's economy saying that it is "improving, but the three-month backward moving average went negative due to the Great East Japan Earthquake."
All 11 indices comprising the cabinet office's CI rose in May, most notably including those for industrial production, retail and commercial sales and shipments. (Xinhua)
Comments