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Manufacturing activity in Japan grew at its quickest pace in nearly four years in January, a survey recently showed, with strong output and employment growth bolstering a strong recovery in the world's third-largest economy.
The final Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was a seasonally adjusted 54.8 in January, up from a preliminary reading of 54.4 and from a final 54.0 in December.
The index remained above the 50 threshold that separates contraction from growth for the 17th straight month and hit its highest level since February 2014.
The output component of the PMI index was at 54.7, which is the same as the preliminary reading and is higher from 54.5 in the previous month to also hit a peak not seen since February 2014.
The employment reading was at its strongest in 11 months, while the final index for output prices climbed to 52.5, up from a preliminary 52.0 and up from 51.0 in December, the best level since October 2008.
The output prices sub-index suggests government data measuring consumer prices may begin to pick up, a good sign for the Bank of Japan as it hopes to achieve its ambitious 2 percent inflation target.
Gross domestic product has grown for the past seven quarters, the strongest run of growth since 1994. The output gap shows demand exceeds supply by the most in more than nine years. Stock prices are at their highest in 26 years, and corporate profits are near an all-time high.
