Japan's factory activity falls in January
The Japanese Jibun Bank Flash Manufacturing PMI Index landed at 48.9 in January, below the neutral 50 to mark a downturn in Japan's manufacturing activity, S&P Global's report released on Wednesday showed.
Despite the negative data, the business conditions in the sector have largely stabilized in January, with output and new orders reducing at the slowest pace since October 2022.
"Subdued global economic conditions continued to hold back customer demand across the Japanese manufacturing sector in January, but there were a number of positive signals from the latest PMI survey ... Hopes of a sustained improvement in supplier performance, alongside a reduced headwind from the pandemic, helped to support a further upturn in business confidence at the start of 2023," Economist at S&P Global Usamah Bhatti said.