April: The Recession Indicator marks 1.4%

－ The Leading Index rose for 11 consecutive months

Takashi MIYAZAKI

  Senior Economist

2021/06/08

  The Recession Indicator for Japan released by Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) marks 1.4% (Figure 1). The Leading Index as an underlying data rose for 11 consecutive months due to improvements in sales forecast of small businesses, inventory ratio of final demand goods, commodity price index, and others, and the recession probability remains significantly below 67%, which is a reference point of signaling a recession. However, consumer confidence in May deteriorated due to the announcement and extension of declaration of a state of emergency in response to spread of the Covid-19 infections, and economic outlook is still uncertain.

【Figure 1. The Recession Indicator (April 2021)】

【Table 1. The Recession Indicator and the Leading Index (over the last year)】

  * The estimation method of the Recession Indicator has revised since the release in July 2020. Please refer to here for more details.