The Markit Japan Services PMI for December was released this morning, coming in at 52.1 against 51.8 in November.
- 14th consecutive month above 50
- “Anecdotal evidence indicated that higher levels of new business, in part driven by orders brought forward to avoid next April’s sales tax hike, were a contributory factor behind the latest growth”
- The Composite Output Index was unchanged, posting at 54.0 again in December, signalling a solid expansion.
Claudia Tillbrooke, Economist at Markit:
- “The latest data indicated that the Japanese private sector continued to grow at a solid pace in December. The rate of expansion was unchanged from November, and was again led to a large degree by the manufacturing sector
- Whilst growth at goods producers remained markedly sharper than that at service providers, the growth rates showed slight convergence in December
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The Tokyo Stock Exchange has opened today after being closed for most of last week – and the Nikkei is being sold consistently, dragging yen crosses lower.
