Japanese companies increased investments in the three months through September, a sign of stronger-than-expected resilience in corporate confidence and supporting views that the Bank of Japan may raise rates sooner rather than later.
Capital expenditure on goods excluding software gained 0.8% in the quarter from the previous period, led by manufacturers, the Finance Ministry reported Monday. The reading compared with a 0.2% drop in corporate spending reported last month in the initial reading of gross domestic product.
Compared with a year earlier, spending excluding software rose a more-than-forecast 9.5% while investment including software gained 8.1%.
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