Manufacturing PMI from Japan, final for October 2024:
- preliminary was 49.0
- prior 49.7
From the report, not very encouraging for the Japanese economy:
- stronger deterioration in the health of the manufacturing sector in Japan
- output fell only marginally but at the strongest rate since April
- new orders contracted at the steepest pace for three months
- Firms often mentioned weakness in domestic and global demand had weighed on sales and output, notably in semiconductors and autos.
- goods producers signalling a renewed fall in purchasing activity
- broad stagnation in employment levels
- firms increasingly worked through backlogs of work, a sign that new order inflows are not enough to sustain production
- confidence was little-changed from the near-two year low seen in September
- firms highlighted concern regarding the timing of the recovery from the current economic malaise
