Japan Jibun Bank/Markit preliminary PMIs for August
- Manufacturing 49.5 (prior 49.4)
- Services 53.4 (prior 51.2)
- Composite 51.7 (prior 51.8)
From the report - upbeat comments on the whole:
- "Preliminary August PMI data give plenty of promise that the solid growth trend seen in the GDP outturns so far this year could indeed stretch into the third quarter, providing a timely boost before the fourth quarter, which is likely to be adversely impacted by the consequences of the sales tax hike.
- Indeed, if forward-looking indicators such as new orders are considered, the underlying trajectory of the economy should have further room to sustain a decent growth path. The driving force behind this remains the service sector, which is being lifted by resilient demand within the domestic economy. Flash data showed services activity growing at the fastest rate in almost two years in August, allaying fears, at least for the time being, that strong external headwinds being felt within manufacturing could spread to other parts of the economy."
Despite the upbeat comments its the 4th month in contraction for manufacturing, which takes some off the gloss off.
