(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in December, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a flash Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 47.7.
That's down from 48.3 in November and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Companies reported a sharp and accelerated decline in new work, which in turn led to a slightly quicker reduction in factory output. At the same time, employment across the sector was unchanged amid signs of excess capacity, with backlogs of work falling markedly overall. Input costs rose sharply and at the quickest rate for three months, but output charges rose to the weakest extent since July 2021.
The survey also showed that the services index improved to 52.0 in December from 50.8 in November.
Growth remained softer than the average seen over 2023 as a whole. Total new business likewise expanded at a slightly quicker but mild pace in December, despite a slight drop in new export sales. Staff numbers were little changed from the previous month following a two-month sequence of modest job creation.
