Outlook: Kansai’s economy shows signs of recovery after bottoming out

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Outlook: Kansai’s economy shows signs of recovery after bottoming out

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Forecasts updates
▶ Our latest forecast for Japan’s real GDP growth in 2020 Q3 is an annualized +18.9% QoQ.

▶ We forecast a GDP deflator of -0.2% QoQ in 2020 Q3.

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Outlook: Kansai’s economy shows signs of bottoming out

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Outlook: Kansai’s economy keeps deteriorating but shows signs of bottoming out

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Forecasts updates
▶ Our latest forecast for Japan’s real GDP growth in 2020 Q3 is an annualized +12.4% QoQ.

▶ We forecast a PCE deflator of +0.3% QoQ in 2020 Q3. In contrast, our GDP deflator forecast is -0.1% QoQ, reflecting the deteriorating terms of trade.

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Forecasts updates
▶ Our latest forecast for Japan’s real GDP growth in 2020 Q3 is an annualized +13.6% QoQ.

▶ Our latest inflation forecast (GDP deflator) for 2020 Q3 is +0.1% QoQ.

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Outlook: Kansai’s economy keeps deteriorating but shows signs of bottoming out

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Forecasts updates
▶ Our latest forecast for Japan’s real GDP growth in 2020 Q2 is an annualized -25.4% QoQ.
▶ We forecast an overall Q2 GDP deflator of +1.1% QoQ.

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Outlook: Severe economic deterioration looming in Kansai

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Forecasts updates
▶ Our latest expenditure-side forecast for Japan’s real GDP growth in 2020 Q2 is an annualized -25.0% QoQ. Our production-side forecast is an annualized -19.3% QoQ. The average of the two is an annualized -22.1%.
▶ Our forecasts for the private final consumption expenditure deflator and the domestic demand deflator in 2020 Q1 are respectively -0.2% QoQ and -0.3% QoQ. As the terms of trade have improved substantially, we forecast an overall Q2 GDP deflator of +1.2% QoQ.

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Outlook: Severe economic deterioration looming

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Forecasts updates
▶ Our latest expenditure-side　forecast for Japan’s real GDP growth in 2020 Q2 is an annualized -14.6% QoQ. Our production-side forecast is an annualized -7.4% QoQ. The average of the two is an annualized -11.0%.
▶ Our forecasts for the private final consumption expenditure deflator and the domestic demand deflator in 2020 Q1 are both -0.3% QoQ. However, as the terms of trade are improving, we forecast an overall GDP deflator of +0.7% QoQ.

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Outlook: Kansai’s economy likely to remain on a downward trajectory

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Forecasts updates
▶ Our latest expenditure-side forecast for Japan’s real GDP growth in 2020 Q1is an annualized -2.7%. Our production-side forecast is an annualized +0.3%. The average of the two forecasts is an annualized -1.2%.
▶ Our forecasts for the private final consumption expenditure deflator and the domestic demand deflator in 2020 Q1 are both +0.1% QoQ. As the terms of trade are deteriorating, we forecast an overall GDP deflator of 0.0% QoQ.

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Outlook: Kansai’s economy is likely to remain on a downward trajectory

▶  Production: Production declined in February.
▶  International trade: In March, Kansai’s trade surplus was smaller than the previous month.
▶  Business confidence: The Economy Watcher DI in March reached an all-time low.
▶  Wages: Both nominal and real wages kept declining in January.
▶  Labor market: In February, the job offers-to-applicants ratio kept deteriorating, and the unemployment rate kept increasing.
▶  Private Consumption: In February, department store sales plummeted while supermarket sales rose due to stockpiling in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
▶  Housing: The number of new housing starts kept decreasing in February.
▶  Construction: Construction investments in February kept expanding, albeit at a decelerating pace. The contract amount for public works projects in March increased.
▶   Inbound tourism: Due to the impact of the coronavirus, the number of international arrivals at Kansai International Airport in March plunged -95.1% year-on-year.
▶  Chinese economy: China saw its Q1 GDP shrink for the first time since quarterly GDP statistics started in 1992.

Data updates

▶ Although production increased for the third consecutive month in February, its recovery from the October-November slump has been sluggish.
▶ Spending on goods (40% of total private final consumption expenditure) increased in February. However, statistics on spending on services, which have more weight and might have been affected substantially by Covid-19, have not been released yet, making it hard to draw conclusions on private consumption trends.
▶ Private housing, private capital investment and changes in private inventories were all bearish in 2020 Q1.
▶ February imports were hit particularly hard by Covid-19. That caused an abrupt expansion in net exports, which propped up GDP growth. However, as the global economy entered a synchronized slowdown in March, we expect that exports will decline, which will worsen the trade balance.

2020 Q1 Forecasts
▶ Our forecast for 2020 Q1 real GDP growth is an annualized -0.2% QoQ.
▶ However, real total demand growth (i.e. domestic demand plus imports) is an annualized -4.8%.
▶ We forecast an overall GDP deflator of -0.1% QoQ in 2020 Q1.

Outlook: Kansai’s economy is likely to remain on a downward trajectory

▶  Production: Although production increased in January, it has not recovered from the October-November slump.
▶  International trade: In February, Kansai’s trade deficit turned into a surplus due to the slump in imports from coronavirus-hit China.
▶  Business confidence: The Economy Watcher DI in February reached its lowest level since April 2011 (after the Great East Japan Earthquake).
▶  Wages: Both nominal and real wages kept declining in December.
▶  Labor market: In January, the job offers-to-applicants ratio deteriorated, and the unemployment rate increased.
▶  Private Consumption: Department store and supermarket sales in January kept declining. Duty-free sales plunged -71.9% in February.
▶  Housing: The number of new housing starts decreased in January.
▶  Construction: Construction investments kept expanding in January, but the growth is decelerating. The contract amount for public works projects in February decreased.
▶   Inbound tourism: Due to the impact of the coronavirus, the number of international arrivals at Kansai International Airport in February slumped -66.0% year-on-year.
▶  Chinese economy: Coronavirus-hit China saw its manufacturing PMI drop to a historic low of 35.7 in February, a level lower than the one registered during the Global Financial Crisis.

Data updates
▶　Most major economic indicators deteriorated in January, including residential construction, capital goods shipments, private capital investment, exports, imports, and large retailers’ sales. Inventories piled up as industrial production increased slightly. The recovery in production, however, has been slow since the consumption tax hike last October.

2020 Q1 Forecasts
▶　Our forecast for 2020 Q1 real GDP growth is an annualized -0.3% QoQ.
▶　We forecast an overall GDP deflator of -0.0% QoQ in 2020 Q1.

Summary: Kansai’s economy is deteriorating but likely to level off

▶  Production: Production in December increased for the first time in three months. However, overall Q4 production registered the largest decline since the Global Financial Crisis.
▶  International trade: In January, Kansai logged a trade deficit. Both exports and imports kept shrinking.
▶  Business confidence: The Economy Watcher DI improved in January. However, concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic are growing.
▶  Wages: Both nominal and real wages kept declining in November.
▶  Labor market: In December, the effective job offers-to-applicants ratio improved, but the unemployment rate increased.
▶  Private Consumption: Large retailers’ sales kept declining in December. The recovery from the consumption tax hike in October is taking longer than it did in after the tax hike in April 2014.
▶  Housing: Although the number of new housing starts in December increased for the first time in five months, 2019 saw an overall decline.
▶  Construction: Construction investments marked the the 22st straight month of expansion in December. The contract amount for public works projects in January increased in all prefectures.
▶   Inbound tourism: The number of international arrivals at Kansai International Airport in January increased for the first time in two months. The impact of the coronavirus is yet to be felt.
▶  Chinese economy: The release of key statistics has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Excluding the Hubei province, factories across China are gradually resuming operations. Concerns about the future of the Chinese economy are growing.