The November index of Japan's current economic conditions has been revised upward, but the index of its future indicators has been lowered, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.
The diffusion index of coincident indicators was revised to 70.0 percent from its earlier reading of 66.7 percent released Jan. 11. The Cabinet Office said the revision stemmed from a positive indicator for manufacturers' capacity utilization that was not counted in the earlier report.
A reading above 50 percent is considered a sign of economic expansion, while a reading below 50 percent is taken as a sign of contraction.
Of the 11 components of the coincident index, 10 have been released.
On the other hand, the diffusion index of leading indicators, which predicts economic activities about six months down the road, was revised downward to 54.5 percent from 60.0 percent after weak machinery orders data were added.
The lagging diffusion index, which shows activity in the recent past, remained unchanged at 37.5 percent.
The three diffusion indexes are calculated by comparing the levels of component economic indicators for a reporting month with levels three months earlier.
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