Japan's key economic gauge rises in September

Japan's key gauge of the current state of the economy increased in September, a reverse from decrease in the previous month, with growing shipments of automobiles, the government said on Tuesday.

The composite index of coincident economic indicators, Japan's broadest indicator of economic health including industrial output, retail sales and new job offers, inched up 0.2 points in September from a month earlier to stand at 112.1 against the 2010 base of 100, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report.

The increase was supported by rising shipments of durable goods, particularly automobiles to North America, a Cabinet Office official was quoted as saying by local media.

The Cabinet Office maintained its recent assessment based on the coincident index, saying the index shows Japan's economy is "pausing" the 17th month in a row.

The index of leading indicators, an economic indicator which predicts conditions over the next several months and consists of 12 indexes such as account inventory ratios, machinery orders, stock prices and other leading economic indicators dropped 0.4 point to 100.5, showed the report.

The Cabinet Office also reported the index of lagging indicators, which reflects economic conditions in the recent past, edged up 0.2 point at 113.2, an increase for the first time in three months.

The indexes take in statistics from all aspects of the Japanese economy to demonstrate both the conditions at present and the future outlook for Japan. Endit