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.
 Composite Output Index Japan 06 January 2014

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

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.