Slip in Japan Manufacturing Outlook Underplays Omicron Concern
- Current confidence holds at a high level, while outlook falls
- But most survey responses may have come before omicron
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Japan’s biggest manufacturers are less optimistic about the coming months as uncertainty over the omicron variant tempers bullishness, according to a Bank of Japan survey that likely underplays the full degree of concern.
Current sentiment among big Japanese makers of products stayed at 18 this month, holding at the highest since 2018, while an index of the outlook slipped to a softer-than-expected 13, the Tankan showed Monday.