Japan large manufacturers' sentiment posted a sharp deterioration in the first quarter, the business outlook survey published by the Ministry of Finance showed on Monday.
The business survey index of large manufacturers fell to -10.5 in the March quarter from -3.6 in the preceding period. The score is forecast to improve markedly to -0.7 in the second quarter.
At the same time, the BSI for large non-manufacturers slid to +0.6 from +2.7 in the prior period. However, the index is expected to improve to +1.4 in the coming quarter. Consequently, the BSI for overall large manufacturers dropped to -3.0 from +0.7 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Manufacturers anticipate conditions to improve next quarter, with the score rising again to +0.7.
