TOKYO, June 7 (Xinhua) -- A key index indicating the condition of Japanese economy in April surpassed its pre-COVID-19 level, underpinned by brisk shipments of capital goods, government statistics showed Monday.
The coincident index of economic conditions increased 2.6 points from March to 95.5 against the 2015 base of 100, rising for the second straight month and reaching the highest level after 95.8 was logged in November 2019, according to preliminary data from the Cabinet Office.
The figure's increase came from the growth in shipments of semiconductor production equipment and heavy machinery including power shovels as well as a sharp year-on-year increase in retail sales, a government official said.
"Service consumption showed weakness under the third state of emergency, but improvement in the manufacturing sector continued," the official said. "Although it's true that the index places a bit more emphasis on manufacturers, the indicator has recovered to a pre-pandemic level for sure."
The Japanese government maintained its overall assessment, saying the economy is "improving", marking the most optimistic description in its five-level evaluation, revised upward last month.
Meanwhile, the leading index of economic conditions, forecasting the situation in the coming months, rose 0.6 point to 103.0 in the reporting month, logging the highest reading since 103.3 in March 2014. It was the 11th straight month of increase.
