The preliminary reading for Japan's Services PMI in October was 50.7
- prior was 47.8
For the Composite, comes in at 50.7
- prelim 50.7
- prior 47.4
'Key findings' from the report:
- First rise in business activity for 21 months in October
- Employment levels rise for third consecutive month
- Business confidence reaches strongest level since March 2013
Comment from the reprot:
- "Japanese service sector firms reported that activity returned to expansion territory for the first time in nearly two years as the country lifted restrictions in light of falling COVID-19 infections. While marginal, the upturn in business activity was the first since January 2020, while new business saw just a fractional reduction in October.
- "Moreover, firms continued to build capacity in anticipation of a gradual recovery in demand, despite the rate of job creation easing to a three-month low. Service providers also noted stronger optimism that business conditions would improve over the year ahead, with confidence rising to the highest for eight-and-a-half years.
- "Overall private sector activity increased at the start of the fourth quarter, the first in six months. A renewed expansion in services activity was coupled with a reversal of the decline in manufacturing output from the previous survey period.
- "Concerns surrounding intensifying price pressures remained elevated, with aggregate input prices rising at the fastest pace in over 13 years in October. This contributed to the quickest rise in prices charged for goods and services for over three years.
- "Yet, private sector firms reported record levels of optimism regarding the year-ahead outlook, as firms expected the pandemic would further recede and demand would recover in line with a further easing in restrictions, notably internationally. As a result, IHS Markit estimates the Japanese economy will expand by 2.3% in 2021."
Encouraging results. Note in the comments above that on price pressures - are familiar theme right across the world.