Japan's 'Street-Level' Economic Sentiment Improves in June but Remains Pessimistic
Economic sentiment among Japan's "street-level" workers ticked higher in June but remained in pessimistic territory, according to survey data released by the Cabinet Office on Wednesday.The seasonally adjusted headline Economy Watchers Survey's current conditions index grew to 44 points from 43.6 points in May.The latest print missed the consensus forecast of 44.3 points tracked by Investing.com.A reading above 50 denotes optimism, while a reading below suggests pessimism. The latest data marked the fourth straight month of negative reading after a neutral 50 print in February.All indicators in the household activity-related sector remained in pessimistic territory at 43.5, but a number of components showed improvements compared with the previous month.The housing sector saw the largest improvement, rising to 38.4 in June from 34.8 in May, the cabinet office said.The services sector grew to 46.4 from 44.3 in the previous month.Decreases were seen in food and beverage, which declined to 41.8 from 44.5, while the retail sector's pessimism widened to 42.8 from 44.4.The corporate activity-related index, which tracks manufacturing and non-manufacturing business responses, improved by 1.9 points to 45.6 from 43.7 in May.The non-manufacturing sector's index improved 2.8 points to 44.8 from 42, but still within negative territory.Employment-related sentiment expanded to 43.9 from 41.5.The seasonally adjusted Eco Watchers future economic conditions index increased to 45.7 points from 40.7 in the preceding month, with a 4.8-point improvement in household activity-related sentiment to 45.7.Future corporate activity-related sentiment improved somehow by 5.5 points to 45.9 from 40.4, while employment-related sentiment grew to 44.8 points from 39.2 points.The readings measure the economic mood of workers with close ties to consumer and business activity, such as taxi drivers, hairdressers, and hospitality staff.
