(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, Dec 14 (KUNA) -- Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers worsened for the fourth straight quarter, reflecting higher energy and raw material costs, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
The central bank's quarterly survey showed the business sentiment among big makers, such as automakers and electronics makers, in the world's third-largest economy dropped to plus 7 in December, compared with plus 8 in the previous September survey.
The mood was dampened amid surging costs of energy and raw materials in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, as well as the yen's weakness.
The headline index represents the percentage of companies which are positive about their business minus the percentage of those who gave negative replies. Thus, a positive number means optimists outnumber pessimists.
The central bank's 'tankan,' which means short-term economic outlook, is Japan's most closely watched index of business confidence.
Confidence among large retailers, banks, real estate companies and other non-manufacturers improved 5 points to plus 19, up for the third quarter in a row, thanks to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and government's support to the pandemic-hit tourism sector.
Looking ahead, large manufacturers expect their business sentiment index to worsen to plus 6 in the next March survey, while large non-manufacturers predict the reading to slide to plus 11.
The latest survey was conducted between Nov. 10 and Dec. 13, covering 9,235 companies, of which 99.4 percent responded. (end)
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