18 October 2001, 10:01 Japan's key economic gauge stays at 0% in Aug. after revision
TOKYO, Oct. 18 (Kyodo) - The government said Thursday its key
gauge of the state of the economy remained at zero in August
following a revision of the preliminary report released earlier in
the month.
The diffusion index of coincident indicators, designed to
measure the current state of the economy, stood at 0.0% in the
reporting month for the first time since March 1998, the Cabinet
Office said.
A reading above 50% is considered a sign of economic expansion,
while a reading below that level indicates contraction.
The Cabinet Office said the index of leading indicators, a
measure of economic growth six to nine months down the road, was
revised downward to 55.6% from a preliminary 71.4%.
The index of lagging indicators, which gauges economic
performance in the recent past, was also revised downward, coming
to 14.3% from 16.7%.
Ten of the 11 component coincident indicators available at
present were in the minus column for August, including raw material
consumption and capacity utilization by manufacturers.
Among the 11 component leading indicators, four were in negative
territory, while six of the eight component lagging indicators were
negative, the Cabinet Office said.
The diffusion indexes of the coincident, leading and lagging
indicators compare the current levels of various economic
indicators with their levels three months earlier.
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