Services 53.1 (prior was 53.7)
- Composite 52.0 (prior 52.9)
Preliminary is here:
The key points from the report:
- Business activity and new order growth sustained
- Outstanding business rises for second time in three months
- Confidence remains strong but eases to 20-month low
In summary from the commentary to the report:
- The Japanese service sector maintained strong performance at the end of Q3 2024, with only a slight slowdown in activity and new business growth, averaging 53.5, similar to Q1 (53.4), indicating steady growth.
- Companies remained optimistic, with rising outstanding business leading to workforce expansion.
- The service sector continued to support overall private sector growth, despite a slight dip in manufacturing output.
- However, aggregate new business growth slowed in September, and backlogs of work declined for the fifth consecutive month, influenced by the manufacturing sector's weakness.
- The sector's response to risks like a stagnating economy will be crucial for the broader private sector's performance.
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Meanwhile USD/JPY is climbing again. I imagine it won't be too long until there intervention type comments out of Japan.
USD/JPY hitting a one-month high
