TOKYO – Sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers rose to the highest level since March 2022 in the three months through December, supported by a sharp recovery in the auto sector.
The key index of sentiment among major manufacturers was +12, compared with +9 in September, the Bank of Japan’s Tankan business survey released on Wednesday showed. That was higher than economists had forecast for +10 and marked the third consecutive quarter of improvements.
The index represents the percentage of companies that say business conditions are favorable, minus those that say conditions are unfavorable.
Major manufacturers expect their current profits to rise 2.4% in the fiscal year ending March 2024, based on the assumption that the dollar trades at 138.30 yen, the survey showed. Their profit increased by 11.7% in the past financial year.
The dollar USDJPY,
-0.05%
was around 145.40 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday morning.
