The Cabinet Office will revise downward its overall assessment of the domestic economy and effectively warn of a possible slowdown in a monthly report scheduled to be released on Friday, government sources said Saturday.
It will be the first time in three months for the government to revise downward its overall assessment. The move reflects concerns about sluggish manufacturing and exports amid the deceleration of the U.S. economy. Compared with a January report that said the economy "continues to rise modestly," the upcoming report will say "the pace of improvement has become more modest."
It will say there are "factors that we should be wary about, such as the economic slowdown in the United States and the movement in stock prices."
The report will revise downward the export assessment from "generally flat" to "weak." It will also revise downward the assessment of corporate revenues and business sentiment.
The state of individual spending being "generally flat" will remain unchanged, while corporate investment will remain "on an upward trend, particularly in the manufacturing sector."