Core inflation in Japan remained stable at 3.1% in March, according to Statistics Bureau data released on Friday, showing the second consecutive month of falling inflation after reaching a 41-year high of 4.3% in January.
Still, the number was above the 2% target set by the Bank of Japan (BOJ), as businesses passed on the cost of rising to consumers.
In April, the purchasing managers’ index for Japan’s manufacturing sector increased to 49.5, up from 49.2. This was the sector’s slowest rate of shrinkage in six months. This is what preliminary data from the au Jibun Bank suggests.
A reading above 50 implies growth over the prior month, while a reading below 50 suggests contraction.
There was minimal change in April’s flash services PMI from March’s reading of 55, which was the second-highest since October 2013.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s economics associate director Annabel Fiddes, “Japan’s private sector continued to expand solidly at the start of Q2… with a resurgent service economy helping offset a weak manufacturing sector performance.”
The flash composite index for April was 52.5, down from March’s 52.9.
