Japan: waiting for economy’s recovery

The economic situation worsens in Japan, as reported by the deterioration of the super index, which heralds a new weakening of the current conditions and expected the next 12 months.

The leading indicator of Japan for the month of May was revised down to 99.7 points from 100 points of the preliminary estimate and is now down from 100 points in April. This was announced by the Cabinet Office of Japan in its final reading.

The figure was below analysts' expectations, which indicated a confirmation of the preliminary estimate. During the same period, the coincident index stood at 109.9 points, resulting in downward compared to 112 in April, while the deferred index (lagging index) is revised to 112.9 points against 115.3 in the previous month.

In the report, the government cited heightened uncertainty in overseas economies, including the U.K. vote in June to leave the European Union and it said it will draw up a new economic stimulus package by the end of the month to ensure an economic recovery.

From export the first positive signal: it rose 2.9 percent in June from the same period a year earlier, in volume terms, posting the first increase in four months. The 7.4 percent annual decline in exports in June was less than the median estimate of 11.6 percent annual decline seen in a Reuters poll of economists, although it was the ninth consecutive monthly fall.