Japan Govt cuts economic assessment for 2nd straight month in April as pandemic fallout widens
|The Japanese Cabinet Office on Thursday cut its economic assessment for the second straight month in April, as the world’s second-largest economy is on a brink of a deep recession due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Key takeaways
Private consumption is "falling sharply" as the pandemic forces households to stay home while plunging demand in key export destinations like the United States and Europe is hurting Japanese manufacturers.
Japan's economy is worsening rapidly and is under an extremely severe situation due to the novel coronavirus.
Economic conditions will likely remain extremely severe.
The health crisis was also taking a toll on the job market, which is "showing weaknesses" such as declines in job offers.
The assessment was the bleakest the government has given since May 2009.
USD/JPY off the lows
The yen was offered on the release of the bleak Japan’s economic assessment, lifting the USD/JPY pair from daily lows of 107.53. The spot now trades at 107.66, almost unchanged on the day.
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