The preliminary for the Manufacturing PMI was 51.0 (which would have been the slowest in 20 months). The final reading is 50.8, so the slowness is confirmed.
From the report:
- "Weakness in Japan's manufacturing sector persisted in September and even turned worse. New orders fell at their sharpest rate in two years – high inflation is eroding client purchasing power, while slowing global economic growth is hurting exports.
- "Weakness in the yen is doing little to bolster export demand either and instead is pushing imported inflation up drastically and drove domestic price pressures up even further. Overall input costs rose at one of the sharpest rates on record in September.
- "Forward-looking indicators from the survey suggest that the downward trend in output looks set to persist in the fourth quarter. New orders fell at a far stronger pace than output, implying further weakness in production on the horizon. Increases in inventories, which according to panellists was due to poor sales performances, also highlights how weak underlying demand conditions are for Japanese goods."
