Japan govt repeats economy picking up but warns of more risks

The Japanese government on Thursday left its overall economic assessment unchanged in its monthly report for November after downgrading it last month, but it also warned about growing downside risks due to the European debt crisis and the flooding in Thailand. "The Japanese economy is still picking up slowly, while difficulties continue to prevail due to the Great East Japan Earthquake," it said. Looking ahead, it repeated: "Reflecting the supply chain recovery (from the earthquake) and the effect of policy measures, the Japanese economy is expected to continue to pick up." But the government warned that Japan's export-led recovery faces more downside risks - the strong yen and weaker share prices triggered by the European sovereign debt crisis and the supply chain constraints caused by the major flooding in Thailand, a key Southeast Asian production center fro Japanese car and electronics makers. (forexlive.com)