Thursday, July 11, 2013

Bank of Japan Sees Brighter Economic Picture

This is from the Bank of Japan's latest policy statement.  I've broken out the individual points.

Japan's economy is starting to recover moderately. As for overseas economies, while the manufacturing sector continues to show a lackluster performance, they are gradually heading toward a pick-up as a whole. 
  • In this situation, exports have been picking up. 
  • Business fixed investment has stopped weakening and shown some signs of picking up as corporate profits have improved. 
  • Public investment has continued to increase, and the pick-up in housing investment has become evident. 
  • Private consumption has remained resilient, assisted by the improvement in consumer sentiment. Reflecting these developments in demand both at home and abroad, industrial production is increasing moderately.
  •  Business sentiment has been improving. Meanwhile, financial conditions are accommodative. 
  • On the price front, the year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI, all items less fresh food) is currently 0 percent. 
  • Some indicators suggest a rise in inflation expectations.