Japan's Dec coincident index sees first fall in three months -govt

FILE PHOTO: High-rise buildings are seen at the Shinjuku business district during sunset in Tokyo, Japan, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's coincident indicator index in December fell for the first time in three months, the government said on Monday, a sign the economy was sluggish even before seeing a record surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant.

The index, which consists of a variety of data such as factory output, employment and retail sales, edged down a preliminary 0.2 points over the previous month to stand at 92.6 in December, the Cabinet Office said.

The index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of the economy a few months ahead, compiled from data such as job offers and consumer sentiment, rose 0.4 points to 104.3.

(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; Writing by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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