Confidence among Japan's small and medium-sized enterprises weakened in January, survey data released by the Shoko Chukin Bank showed Tuesday.
The small business confidence index fell to 46.3 in January from 46.7 in December. The confidence indicator for manufacturing dropped to 45.6 from 46.1 in the prior month. Similarly, the score for non-manufacturing slid to 46.9 from 47.2.
The overall small business confidence is forecast to rise to 47.8 in February.
Marcel Thieliant, a Japan economist at Capital Economics said the survey underlines the fragility of the economic recovery.
Data released earlier in the day by the Bank of Japan showed that the services producer price index rose 3.6 percent on a yearly basis in December, the same rate of growth as seen in November. Month-on-month, the index remained flat after rising 0.4 percent in November.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.