Japan Manufacturing PMI Climbs To 49.6 In April - Jibun

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in April, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.6.

That's up from 48.2 in March, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Latest data showed that output was down again in April, extending the current period of contraction to 11 months. The rate of decline was modest and the lowest recorded by the survey since last October. Firms again continued to signal a preference for utilizing existing inventories rather than raising output. There were also reports that a lack of incoming new orders had weighed on production.

Amid reports of soft demand and destocking at clients, new orders were also down for an eleventh successive month. That said, the degree to which sales fell was marginal and eased noticeably for a second month running. New export volumes also declined amid evidence of low demand from key export markets like China and the U.S.