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Japan Sept coincident indicator index up 1.3 points

Fri Nov 6, 2009 12:06am EST

(For more stories on the Japanese economy, click [ID:nECONJP])

Global Markets  |  Japan

TOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Japan's index of coincident economic indicators rose a preliminary 1.3 points in September from August, climbing for the sixth straight month as the economy emerges from its worst postwar recession.

The Cabinet Office upgraded its assessment on the coincident index, saying the economy has started to move upwards. This marks the first upgrade since May.

The index of leading economic indicators, compiled using data such as the number of job offers and consumer sentiment, rose 3.2 points from August to mark the seventh straight month of increases, the Cabinet Office said on Friday.

The coincident index is used to measure whether the economy is expanding or deteriorating, and to determine when it peaked or bottomed.

It takes several months after a change in assessment for the government to officially decide whether there has been a shift in trend for the economy.

Japan's economy emerged from recession in April-June after contracting for four straight quarters, the longest since World War Two, as exports and output bounced back on a pickup in global demand and the effect of government stimulus.

But analysts expect any recovery to be slow and fragile as rising job losses and falling wages weigh on household consumption.

A Reuters poll showed economists expect July-September real gross domestic product, due out Nov. 16, to have grown 0.7 percent from the previous quarter. [ID:nT81019]

Details were as follows:

(month-on-month changes in points) ----------------------------------------------------------

SEPT AUG JULY

Leading Index +3.2 +0.7 +1.6

Coincident Index +1.3 +1.4 +1.2

Lagging Index +0.3 +1.3 -1.3 ----------------------------------------------------------

To view full tables, click on the Cabinet Office's website here (Reporting by Rie Ishiguro)



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