World Business

Japan's key economic gauge drops unrevised 0.1 point in May

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-20 16:00

TOKYO - Japan's coincident composite index (CI), which reflects current business conditions, fell an unrevised 0.1 point to 101.2 in May, marking the first drop in 14 months, the Cabinet Office said in a report Tuesday, maintaining the government's preliminary findings.

According to the report, May's decline, following a 0.8 point rise in April, was led by drops in manufacturers' investment goods shipments (excluding transport equipment), commercial sales (both retail and wholesale), industrial output and large industrial power consumption.

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The leading composite index, which measures the state of the economy three months ahead, was revised downwards to 98.6 against a base of 100 set in 2005, from a preliminary reading of 98.7, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, the cabinet office said.

The lagging CI, which reflects economic conditions in the recent past was also revised downward from a preliminary 83.6 to 83.4 and the diffusion index (DI) of coincident indicators, was revised upwards to 90.0 from  preliminary 88.9 in May, the report said.

However, the coincident DI stayed above the key 50 level at 54. 5, slightly lower than the preliminary reading of 55.0, indicating the economy is in a state of expansion.

The government maintained its assessment of the indexes saying they continue to show signs of improvements.