Japan Services Sector Accelerates In March - Jibun Bank
(RTTNews) - The services sector in Japan continued to expand in March, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 55.0.
That's up from 54.0 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Japanese service providers registered a solid rise in new business volumes during March. The upturn was the seventh in as many months and the strongest recorded since February 2019. Firms signaled that the end of the pandemic had boosted inbound demand and client confidence, notably in the travel and tourism sector. As such, foreign demand for Japanese services also expanded at the fastest rate in 2023 so far.
Inflationary pressures remained marked in March. Operating expenses faced by Japanese service sector firms ticked up further, stretching the current sequence of inflation to 28 months. Inflation across a broad range of inputs was reported, including commodities, fuel and labor, while exchange rate weakness also contributed to higher cost burdens.
The survey also showed that its composite PMI improved from 51.1 in February to 52.9 in March.
The uptick was the third in as many months and the sharpest recorded since June 2022. Growth was underpinned by the second-fastest rise in services business activity in the series history, while new business inflows also expanded at a solid pace. That said, the manufacturing sector was subdued, as output and new orders declined at softer, yet still moderate rates.
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