Japans Economic Data Release

Japan Aug orders received by 50 largest contractors up 10.3 pct year-on-year

The value of construction orders received last month by the 50 largest contractors surged by 10.3 pct year-on-year to 1.08 trln yen, having dropped by 20.1 pct in July, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. Domestic private-sector orders rose 7.4 pct last month to 777.1 bln yen, rising for the first time in three months, while public-sector orders were down 18.2 pct at 168.0 bln yen, falling for the fourth straight month. Orders from overseas also rose 617.3 pct to 90.1 bln yen, rising for the first time in two months, while miscellaneous orders were up 17.0 pct at 48.7 bln yen.

Japan Aug housing starts rise 1.8 pct yr-on-yr, beating market forecast

Housing starts unexpectedly rose 1.8 pct year-on-year to 111,187 in August, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. The market was forecasting a drop of 0.6 pct based on a poll by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. August's gain followed a 7.5 pct year-on-year drop in July, the first fall in six months. Last month, starts on houses for rent declined 0.6 pct from a year earlier to 44,925, the first drop in 17 months. Starts on owner-occupied houses were up 6.1 pct at 33,624, while starts on condominiums rose 1.0 pct to 31,694.

Japan Aug industrial output rises 1.9 pct from July, matches market forecast

Industrial output rose a seasonally adjusted 1.9 pct in August from the previous month, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed, matching market's consensus estimate. Year-on-year, output was up 6.0 pct. METI had earlier forecast a month-on-month rise of 4.2 pct for August. The ministry predicts that production will drop by 0.1 pct in September from August but will rise by 1.8 pct in October from September. The ministry provided the following month-on-month data for August, compared with corresponding revised figures for July: Output - up 1.9 pct vs down 0.9 pct Shipments - up 2.5 pct vs down 0.5 pct Inventories - up 1.0 pct vs down 0.7 pct

Japan Aug household spending falls 4.3 pct yr-on-yr, deeper than forecast

Spending by households in August dropped 4.3 pct in real terms from a year before to an average 292,087 yen, declining for the eighth straight month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The fall was bigger than what the market had expected. A Nihon Keizai Shimbun poll of 22 brokerage and research firms were looking for a year-on-year drop of 1.2 pct. The overall income of households rose 1.8 pct year-on-year and the income of household heads increased 3.6 pct. Disposable income was up 2.3 pct from a year earlier, the ministry said.

Japan unemployment rate stays at 4.1 pct in Aug

The unemployment rate stood at 4.1 pct in August, unchanged from July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said, matching market's consensus forecast. The male jobless rate stood at 4.3 pct last month, up from 4.2 pct in July, while the female unemployment rate remained at 3.9 pct, the ministry said.

Japan Aug core CPI rises 0.3 pct yr-on-yr, in line with forecast

The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile prices of fresh food but includes energy prices, rose 0.3 pct from a year earlier in August, the third straight monthly increase, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The figure matched market expectations for a 0.3 pct gain, according to a poll of 24 research houses by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Overall CPI rose 0.9 pct from a year earlier, the fourth consecutive monthly gain. In August, the ministry changed the base year in computing the CPI to 2005 from 2000 as part of a regular update done every five years to correct for statistical upward drift. At the same time it shuffled the CPI basket and the weighting of goods and services covered in the data to reflect more high-tech and health-conscious lifestyles. As such, the ministry included DVD recorders, flat-screen televisions and global positioning systems on automobiles to the product basket and shuffled the weights of all items. For the Tokyo area, the core CPI was unchanged in September from a year ago after being flat in August as well, in line with market forecast. The Tokyo CPI is the leading indicator for national price trends and is released a month earlier. Overall CPI for Tokyo in September was up 0.4 pct from a year earlier following a revised rise of 0.8 pct in August.

More than 90 pct of corporate chiefs bullish on Japanese economy - Nikkei poll
More than 90 pct of top leaders at large firms continue to see the economy expanding, but also voiced concerns over the slow pace of growth, according to a poll compiled by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The survey covers 135 presidents and chairmen of major firms listed on the local stock exchanges, and was conducted between mid- to late September. The poll showed that 91 pct of respondents see the economy "expanding," but the reading was 5 percentage points lower than the result in July. Some 13.3 pct said the economy "is expanding at a steady pace," compared with 23.3 pct in July, while 55.6 pct said it "is expanding at a moderate pace," down from 61.7 pct, according to the September survey. Some 22.2 pct said the economy "is expanding, but at a slower pace," up from the previous poll's 10.5 pct in the previous poll, and those seeing the economy drifting sideways increased to 8.9 pct from 3.8 pct, the poll showed. The Nikkei poll showed that 89 pct see American politics and the US economy as a source of concern, up 4 percentage points. About 80 pct said they were worried about rises in costs amid high energy prices. On issues that should be tackled by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, fiscal rehabilitation was cited by 53 pct, regulatory reform and deregulation by 49 pct, and strained relations with China and South Korea by 48 pct.