November 16, 2003	Sunday	Ramazan 20, 1424

TOKYO, Nov 15: Japan is likely to upgrade its assessment of the state of economy in a monthly report due out next week, following the release of upbeat economic data, Kyodo news agency said on Saturday.

Quoting government sources, Kyodo said the Cabinet Office would revise its assessment upwards, based partly on an improvement in industrial output, which registered a seasonally adjusted 3.8pc rise in September from the previous month.

The Cabinet Office upgraded its assessment of the economy in the August and September reports, but left it unchanged in the October report, saying: The economy is showing signs it is headed for a recovery.

The government is likely to raise the assessment further in the November report due out Thursday, Kyodo quoted the sources as saying.

Rising exports and generally favourable earnings results reported by the corporate sector for the April-September first half of the 2003 business year are also encouraging, Kyodo quoted the sources as saying.

Figures released on Friday showed Japan’s gross domestic product grew 0.6pc in the third quarter of this year, higher than expected and following 0.9pc growth in April-June.—Reuters