Major companies became less confident about business conditions in the January-March quarter as manufacturers were hit by high oil prices, pushing the key confidence index down for the first time in four quarters, a government survey showed Monday.
The index of business conditions at companies capitalized at 1 billion yen or more came to 6.1 on an all-industry basis, down from 10.5 the previous quarter, the joint Cabinet Office and Finance Ministry survey says.
The poll also shows nonmanufacturers were affected by the cold winter, leading to falls in the number of people dining out and visiting amusement parks.