Japan to start composite business condition indexes

TOKYO, May 12 (Reuters) - Japan will start publishing a new series of business condition gauges from June based on composite rather than diffusion indexes, the cabinet office said on Monday.

Composite indexes are aimed at capturing the momentum of the economy by aggregating the percentage change in a selected series of data, while diffusion indexes aggregate the direction of change.

The government will use the new method for compiling indexes such as the leading indicator and coincident indexes. The leading index is compiled using data such as the number of new job offers, consumer sentiment and Tokyo share prices.

The government will switch to the new data series when it announces business condition indexes for April on June 9. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Hugh Lawson)