Japan's Q4 business sentiment worsens as cost pressures bite

TOKYO : Japanese manufacturers' mood soured in the final quarter of 2022, a central bank survey showed on Wednesday, as persistent cost pressures and the prospects of slowing global demand clouded the outlook for the world's third-largest economy.

The mixed outcome highlights the challenge Japanese policymakers face in prodding companies to raise wages and compensate households for the rising cost of living - a factor the BOJ sees as crucial for inflation to sustainably hit its 2 per cent goal. The big non-manufacturers' confidence index rose to plus 19 from plus 14, beating market forecasts of plus 17, the survey showed.

Core consumer prices rose 3.6 per cent in November from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 40 years and exceeding the BOJ's 2 per cent target for a seventh straight month, as the yen's slump inflated the cost of importing already expensive fuel and food.

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