BOJ Tankan Seen Showing Slight Fall in Manufacturers' Sentiment

Tokyo, March 25 (Jiji Press)--An upcoming Bank of Japan "tankan" quarterly survey report is seen showing a slight deterioration in business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers, according to estimates by private think tanks.

Many economists think that sluggish exports amid slowing overseas economies and concern about U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariff policy are pushing down the sentiment.

The headline diffusion index for current sentiment among large manufacturers is projected at plus 12 for the March report, due out April 1, down 2 points from the previous December survey.

The number is the average of forecasts by 14 economic research institutes. The DI is calculated by subtracting the percentage of companies reporting bad business conditions from that of those seeing good conditions.

"The Chinese economy's continued weakness and the negative effect of Trump's tariffs weighed on business sentiment," NLI Research Institute said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]