Japan upgrades assessment of economic prospects
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Tokyo
Published: March 14 2002 04:32 | Last Updated: March 14 2002 19:38
markets.ft.com
Japan upgraded its assessment of the economy on Thursday for the first time since June 2000 amid signs of improvement in production and exports. However, economists warned it still needed to implement structural reforms.
The economy remained in a severe state, the Cabinet Office said, but expectations of stronger global demand should help prevent it deteriorating further. The economy has shrunk for three consecutive quarters.
Economists were in agreement with the report, saying that a cyclical recovery in Japan would be possible so long as demand from the US picked up.
"It's a fair assessment," said Takehiro Sato, economist at Morgan Stanley. "These monthly reports used to be lagging indicators, but now the government is more pre-emptive on the economy."
The government's view was partly supported by Thursday's figures, which showed that Japan's trade surplus surged a record 424 per cent in January, year on year, to Y709bn ($5.5bn, E6.3bn, £3.9bn), propelling the current account surplus 220 per cent higher. Although total exports fell, the pace of decline was less severe than in recent months while exports to Asia grew for the first time in almost a year. |
