TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - 23.8 percent of Japan's top executives believe
the domestic economy is deteriorating, triple the number of those who held that
view in last December's poll, reflecting the dual concerns of a strong yen and a
US economic slowdown, a poll compiled by the Nikkei showed.
The survey was conducted in mid-March and elicited responses from leaders at
134 domestic companies.
With just 7.5 percent of the respondents in December's survey citing a
worsening economy, the latest poll shows that business sentiment among corporate
chiefs is cooling.
Only 27.6 percent of those surveyed said the economy is growing, compared
with 64.2 percent in December, according to the poll.
The diffusion index for current economic conditions, calculated by
subtracting the percentage citing contraction from the percentage citing growth,
dropped to 3.8 from 56.7 previously.
A total of 94.9 percent cited the US as the nation facing the biggest threat
of an economic downturn.
Of the 73 respondents, 26 percent said that a dollar below 100 yen would
hurt earnings as a result of export declines.
(1 US dollar = 99.09 yen)
yasuhiko.seki@thomson.com
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