Business confidence among large companies in Japan plummeted in the January-March quarter.
The Cabinet Office and Finance Ministry said Thursday in a joint quarterly survey that the index on business conditions at companies capitalized at 1 billion yen was 0.6, compared with 2.1 for the October-December quarter. Manufacturers were hit by higher raw material prices and inventory adjustments in the information technology sector.
In the previous survey, the latest index reading was forecast at 4.1.