Tankan survey result shows business sentiment to worsen

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Japan's big manufacturers expect conditions to significantly worsen in the coming three months, after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami.

The business sentiment index for this June is at minus 2, according to data from the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey.

A positive reading indicates the sector is improving.

The Bank of Japan separated the survey for March into responses collected before and after the disaster.

The post-quake index for sentiment among big manufacturers was plus 6, the same reading that the full survey showed.

"The positive figure for March strikes me as a bit odd and it's a bit difficult to believe," said Koichi Ogawa from Daiwa SB Investments.

"I wonder if the impact of the disaster is really reflected in the result".