— Japan Oct Tertiary Index +0.6% M/M; MNI Median Forecast +0.4%
— Japan Tertiary Index Posts 1st M/M Rise in 2 Months; Sep -0.4%
— Japan Oct Tertiary Index +0.5% Y/Y Vs Sep Unchanged
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s tertiary industry index, which measures
spending in the services sector, rebounded in October, buoyed by
software services, leisure and retail sales, data from the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry showed Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted index rose 0.6% to 98.7 in October
following a revised 0.4% fall in September and a revised 0.1% rise in
August. The level remained below the pre-disaster level of 99.3 marked
in February.
The October figure came in better than the median forecast for
+0.4% by economists polled by Market News International.
The increase was also supported by sunny days and lower
temperatures in October, which boosted professional golf tournament
revenues and retail sales of autumn and winter clothing, a METI official
said.
The March earthquake disaster delayed the start of professional
baseball tournaments this year, which resulted in more games in October
and pushed up the tertiary index for the month, she said.
From a year earlier, the unadjusted index rose 0.5% to 97.4 in
October, marking the first rise in two months, after being unchanged in
the previous month.
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$]
