Reuters monthly poll tracks the Bank of Japan's tankan quarterly survey
- manufacturers index +28 in October vs +26 in Sep
- non-manufacturers index +24 in oct vs +33 in September, this is its lowest since December 2016
- manufacturers January index seen at +28, non-manufacturers +29
Factors for the results cited:
- recent natural disasters hit consumers and some firms
- hit from natural disasters should be temporary
- external risks to the outlook are mounting
More:
- "Exchanges of hefty tariffs between the United States and China have raised input costs at our U.S. operations," a manager of a transport equipment firm wrote in the survey. "The direct impact has been small at present but the future remains uncertain as we may need to shift production, depending on whether the United States will impose heavy tariffs against its imports from Japan."
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Reuters Tankan poll of 282 large- and mid-sized firms
- 252 firms responded
