TOKYO, July 1 (KUNA) -- Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers for the second straight quarter in June, the Bank of Japan said on Friday.
The central bank's quarterly survey showed the business sentiment index among big makers, such as automakers and electronics makers, in the world's third-largest economy slid to 9 in June, compared with 14 in the previous March survey.
Sentiment was dampened amid surging costs of energy and raw materials in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, as well as supply crunches due to Shanghai's two-month coronavirus lockdown.
Confidence among large retailers, banks, real estate companies and other non-manufacturers rose to 13 from 9 for the first improvement since the December 2021, thanks to eased COVID-19 restrictions.
The 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.
Looking ahead, large manufacturers expect their business sentiment index to slightly improve to 10 in the next survey in September, while large non-manufacturers predict the index to remain unchanged at 13.
The latest poll was conducted between May 30 and June 30, covering 9,313 companies, of which 99.3 percent responded. (end) mk.gta