The latest monthly Tankan report from the Reuters survey
Manufacturers' sentiment index +31 in October (vs +25 for September)
- Manufacturers highest since June 2007
- Driven by producers of electrical machinery, metal products and other machinery, and oil refiners
Service-sector index +30 in October (+34 in September)
- dragged down by retailers
The manufacturers' and service-sector indexes were expected to fall to 24 and 28 respectively in January
- concerns about North Korea, the outlook for the Chinese and U.S. economies, and Japan's domestic politics
"Global car sales have been performing well," a manager of a transport equipment maker wrote in the survey, in which companies respond anonymously. An electrical machinery maker said: "Currency fluctuations have been small and orders have been steady."
--
The poll of 548 large- and mid-sized companies
- Conducted September 28 to October 12
- 254 firms responded
