BOJ Tankan Q1 2024: Large Manufacturers Index +11 (expected +10)

Headlines via Reuters:

  • March big manufacturers index +11(Reuters poll: 10)
  • June big
    manufacturers index seen at +10(Reuters poll: 11)
  • March big
    non-manufacturers index +34(Reuters poll: 33)
  • June big
    non-manufacturers index seen at +27(Reuters poll: 30)
  • March small
    manufacturers index -1(Reuters poll: -2)
  • June small
    manufacturers index seen at 0(Reuters poll: -2)
  • March small
    non-manufacturers index +13(Reuters poll: 15)
  • June small
    non-manufacturers index seen at +8(Reuters poll: 10)
  • Japan all firms see
    dollar averaging 141.42 yen for fy2024/25
  • Japan all firms see
    euro averaging 151.86 yen for fy2024/25
  • Japan big
    manufacturers see dollar averaging 140.40 yen for fy2024/25
  • March all firms
    employment index -36
  • March all firms
    financial condition index +11 vs Dec +11
  • March big
    manufacturers’ production capacity index +3 vs Dec +2
  • Japan big
    manufacturers see fy2024/25 recurring profits -4.0%
  • Japan big firms see
    fy2024/25 capex +4.0% (Reuters poll: 9.2%)
  • Japan small firms
    see fy2024/25 capex -3.6% (Reuters poll: 5.7%)

As part of the survey are questions on inflation expectations, the Tankan Corporate Price Expectations Survey:

  • Japan firms expect consumer prices to rise 2.4% a year from now vs
    +2.4% in prev survey
  • Firms expect
    consumer prices to rise an annual 2.2% 3 years from now vs +2.2% in
    prev survey
  • Firms expect
    consumer prices to rise an annual 2.1% 5 years from now vs +2.1% in
    prev survey

***

The term “Tankan” is short for “Tanshin Kansoku,” which roughly translates to “Short-term Economic Observation”.

  • its published quarterly by the BOJ and is a closely watched economic indicator
  • the BoJ surveys thousands of Japanese firms of all sizes, across a wide range of industries
  • questions are focused on firms’ current business conditions and their expectations for the coming quarter and year
  • covering aspects such as production, sales, profits, investment in plant and equipment, employment, prices, and more

The headline(s) to to the report are diffusion indexes, which reflects the difference between the percentage of firms that are optimistic about business conditions and those that are pessimistic.

  • a positive reading suggests that more companies are optimistic, while a negative reading indicates more pessimism

The report is segmented into “large manufacturers,” “large non-manufacturers,” “small manufacturers,” and “small non-manufacturers” so as to help provide insight into different sectors of the economy.

The Bank of Japan

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com. Source