The manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in July, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.6.
That's down from 49.8 in June, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The downturn reportedly reflected production adjustments in response to weaker demand. Indeed, there was also a sustained contraction in new order volumes at the start of the second half of 2023. The rate of decline sharpened from June, amid cooling demand in both domestic and international markets.
As such, foreign sales of Japanese manufactured goods reduced for the seventeenth month in a row. That said, the rate of reduction was the softest recorded for nine months.
