MNI: Improvement Expected For Services In BOJ Tankan-Survey

The Bank of Japan's December Tankan survey will show that sentiment among smaller and major companies in the services and outside of the manufacturing sector has improved as private consumption recovers after the government lifted a pandemic state of emergency at the start of October, economists predicted.

BOJ officials are focused on how corporate price-setting has evolved amid a combination of high raw material costs and any rebound in private consumption, see: MNI INSIGHT: Tankan Supports BOJ Econ Views; High Costs Eyed.

Sentiment among major manufacturers is not expected to outshine the upbeat September Tankan as supply-chain disruptions and uncertainty about the Omicron virus variant weigh.

Economists expect the diffusion index (DI) for sentiment among major manufacturers to improve to +19 from +18 in September for the sixth straight rise. Forecasts ranged from +15 to +20. The median forecast for the DI for major non-manufacturers is +6 in December, up from September’s +2. The forecasts ranged from +4 to +9.

See: MNI: BOJ December Tankan Business Sentiment Survey.

The BOJ will release the Tankan quarterly business survey for December, conducted from early November to Dec. 10, at 0850 JST on Dec. 13, Monday (2350 GMT on Dec. 12, Sunday).