— Japan Jan Tertiary Index -1.7% M/M; MNI Forecast +0.3%
— Japan Tertiary Index Posts 1st M/M Fall in 2 Mths; Dec Rev +1.8%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s tertiary industry index, which measures
spending in the services sector, unexpectedly posted the first drop in
two months in January on a pullback in life and casualty insurance sales
after a surge in December, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry showed on Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted index dropped 1.7% to 98.4 in January,
following a revised 1.8% rise (preliminary +1.4%) in December, also
because of lower shipments of TVs and other consumer electronics as well
as semiconductors.
The January figure came in much weaker than the median forecast for
+0.3% by economists polled by Market News International.
Of the 13 categories comprising the index, 10 marked drops in
January from the previous month, following solid gains in many consumer
businesses in December.
From a year earlier, the unadjusted index rose 0.1% to 94.1 in
January, marking a second straight rise.
The service sector employs more than half of Japan’s workforce, and
spending on services such as retailing, dining and travel is closely
tied to changes in income and consumer confidence.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]
