Japan Jibun Bank/Markit final PMIs for August
- Services 53.3
- Composite 51.9.
Preliminaries and priors were :
- Services 53.4 (prior 51.2)
- Composite 51.7 (prior 51.8)
IHS Markit comments on the data release:
- Japan's service sector ... activity growing at the sharpest rate in nearly two years
- At face value, this can be taken as a positive signal ahead of the consumption tax hike staged for October, suggesting that the resilience the domestic market has exhibited in 2019 so far has been sustained into Q3
- Nevertheless, there were signs to suggest caution, particularly in the forward-looking indicators. The New Order Index fell for a third straight month and pointed to only marginal growth in sales, while optimism towards the future held steady at the subdued level seen in July
- Latest data pointed to a sharper rise in backlogs of work, which will fuel the current activity growth trend, but the New Orders Index has little room left to the downside until outright contraction is signalled.
