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Impact of high oil on Japan firms not so serious so far: survey+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, April 28_(Kyodo) _ The impact of soaring crude oil prices on Japanese companies has not been that serious so far, a government survey found Friday. Conducted earlier this month by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry on 57 companies that rely heavily on crude oil and petroleum products, the survey also showed that about 70 percent of the firms foresee a further rise in oil prices, compared with 40 percent in the previous survey released in February. The 57 businesses are in nine industrial sectors with a high reliance on crude oil -- chemicals, glass sheets, textiles, paper and pulp, steel, electrical machinery, vehicles and auto parts, rolled aluminum and cement. When the ministry undertook the research between April 18 and 27, crude oil futures moved from $71.35 to $75.17 per barrel in New York. About 80 percent of the polled companies said they see adverse effects from higher oil prices on their businesses "to some extent" and about 10 percent said the impact has been "serious." Some companies have succeeded in passing oil price hikes onto products and the influence from recent fresh surges has not worsened their business conditions, according to the poll. As in the February survey, about 30 percent of the companies said in the April poll that they were worried about secondary adverse effects of high oil prices, as these could increase costs for utilities and goods distribution services. Many respondents said they are promoting diversification of energy sources from oil to natural gas or other fuels to cope with the surging prices. Some of those polled also called on the government to strive to stabilize oil prices in the international market. METI brought forward the regular survey schedule to examine the influence of soaring oil prices to record levels on Japanese businesses. The results were originally scheduled to be published in June. |