Japan’s PMI Manufacturing rose fractionally from 47.9 to 48.0 in January, below expectation of 48.2. Manufacturing remained in contraction for the eighth consecutive months. PMI Services rose from 5.15 to 52.7. PMI Composite rose from 50.0 to 51.1.
Usamah Bhatti, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, noted that while “modest” the private sector is having the strongest growth since September. However, there was disparity between the sectors, with services reaching a four-month high, while manufacturing marked its eighth consecutive month of contraction.
Regarding inflation, Bhatti said input price inflation “remains high historically”. But output inflation eased to its “lowest since February 2022”. This indicates that while input costs are still elevated, businesses are not passing these costs fully onto consumers.
