"Things made in China for the domestic market will stay, but for things made in China to export, the advantages, starting with labour costs, are declining"
- Wakamatsu, a Southeast Asia specialist at the government-affiliated Japan External Trade Organisation
Japan's corporate service price index fell for the fourth consecutive month in September, the Bank of Japan reported Thursday. An index measuring corporate service prices erased 0.5% from a year earlier, from a 0.3% fall in the preceding month. Analysts had predicted Japan's CSPI to drop 0.4% last month. On a monthly basis, prices were flat following the 0.3% contraction in August.
"There's a high chance that Japan's economy will have two consecutive quarters of contraction through December," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp. in Tokyo. "The slump in advanced nations is spreading to emerging economies."
"Companies are becoming more concerned about the outlook for the economy and their businesses," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp. in Tokyo.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 1.30% per cent, or 117.73 points, to 8,937.47. The broader Topix Index plunged 1.37% per cent, or 10.26 points, to 741.16.
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