Japan maintains moderate recovery view

Japan's government will maintain its assessment of the economy in its February report and will drop its view that currencies …

Japan's government will maintain its assessment of the economy in its February report and will drop its view that currencies need to be cautiously watched, according to a draft of the report.

"The economy is recovering at a moderate pace, with some weak movements continued to be detected," the draft, obtained by Reuters news agency today, said.

The monthly report will be released on Tuesday. The report comes after data showed last week that the Japanese economy contracted for three straight quarters from April to December last year.

The report is expected to drop a reference to currency rates, which had been cited in the January report along with oil price movements as factors to watch when gauging the economic outlook.

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"Attention should be given to inventory adjustment in information-technology related areas, crude oil prices and other factors," the draft said.

The change comes after the yen has eased from a five-year high of around 101.65 yen to the dollar hit last month. The yen was hovering near 105.70 to the dollar today.

The draft report also revised the assessment on personal consumption, saying it is "largely flat", rather than "the pace of rises is slowing", as stated in January report.