The government said Monday its key gauge of the state of the economy remained below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in September for the ninth consecutive month.

The coincident index, designed to measure the current state of the economy, stood at 12.5 percent in the reporting month after marking zero in August, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report.

"Coincident indexes in recent months suggested the Japanese economy has been in a 'severe' situation. The possibility is high that the coincident index for October will stay below 50 percent," Cabinet Office economist Yoshihiko Senoo said.