TOKYO: The Japanese government kept its economic assessment unchanged in a monthly report released Tuesday.

“The Japanese economy is picking up moderately, although some weaknesses have been seen recently,” the Cabinet Office said in the report.

The government changed the wording for its assessment on producer prices, saying that the pace of increase is slowing recently. In last month’s report, the Cabinet Office had said that producer prices were rising.

Data released by the Bank of Japan earlier this month showed the producer price index was flat in January from the previous month amid declines in oil and coal prices. Still, the index shot up 9.5 pct from a year earlier.

A Cabinet Office official said that the change in wording for producer prices came as “the index was unchanged from a month earlier, while remaining high.”

In the February economic report, the assessments and wordings for all other categories remained the same.

The report said that private consumption is “picking up moderately.” Corporate profits “are improving as a whole, although some weaknesses remain,” it said.

Exports “have been in a weak tone recently,” reflecting stalled exports in the semiconductor sector and a surge in COVID-19 cases in China. Pointing to stagnant exports to Asia, especially China, the Cabinet Office official said, “We will monitor the overall export situation closely.”

Looking ahead, the report said that the Japanese economy is “expected to show movements of picking up.” It said that full attention should be given to the spread of COVID-19 in China as well as rising prices and financial market fluctuations.

JIJI Press