Japan March manufacturers' mood up, Ukraine crisis clouds outlook - Reuters Tankan poll

Early Wednesday morning in Asia, Reuters Tankan poll showed that Japanese manufacturers' business confidence improved for the first time in three months in March, to +8 versus +6 in February, as automakers became less pessimistic, though firms feared a fresh surge in energy prices due to the Ukraine crisis.

“The service-sector index extended a decline for the second month to a five-month low of minus 1, compared with the previous month's 3,” adds Reuters.

Additional details

Service-sector sentiment turned negative for the first time since October due to COVID-19 curbs and as global inflation squeezed corporate profits, according to the poll, which tracks the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) closely watched "Tankan" quarterly survey.

While the mood among manufacturers remained positive for the 14th straight month, managers voiced concerns about a wide array of downside risks that cloud the outlook for the world's third-largest economy, days before the BOJ's next policy meeting.

Elsewhere, Yomiuri came out with the news that Japan’s Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida is expected to order the compilation of additional stimulus.

On a different page, “The most-favored nation designation of Russia will be revoked by Japan,” said NHK.

USD/JPY remains sidelined at five-year high

Given the pre-Fed anxiety and mixed concerns over Ukraine-Russia, USD/JPY stays mostly steady around the five-year high of 118.44.

Read: USD/JPY Price Analysis: Bears looking for a long squeeze to test 118.00/10 area