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The manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in September, albeit at a barely slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.3.
That's up marginally from 47.2 in August, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Individually, production and new orders fell markedly again, although the rate of job shedding was the softest in four months. Business confidence rose to its strongest level in more than two years.
The data also showed that the services PMI crept up to 45.6 from 45.0 last month, while the composite index rose to 45.5 from 45.2.
