TOKYO- Nearly 70 percent of Japanese firms expect the fall-out from the crisis in Ukraine to hurt earnings, a Reuters poll showed, with a majority of those citing a surge in oil prices as their primary concern.
The latest Reuters Corporate survey highlighted the likelihood of more pain ahead for companies in resource-poor Japan, where a weakening yen is further adding to the cost of commodities and heaping more pressure on households.
A total of 69 percent of companies surveyed said they expected the crisis to hit earnings, with 9 percent of firms saying they expected a large impact.
“As the price of merchandise rises, consumers are tending to favour less expensive goods and services as they become more thrifty,” a manager of a retailer wrote in the survey, which polled 500 non-financial firms between March 2 and March 11. – Reuters
