Japan’s November Services PMI Holds Steady at 53.1, Matching Previous Month

(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Ji Yeon Kim – Japan’s services sector continued to expand in November, with the latest data showing sustained momentum.

On the 21st, S&P Global announced that the flash reading for Japan’s November Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 53.1, unchanged from the final figure for the previous month and remaining above the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction.

The Japan Services PMI is calculated based on a survey of approximately 400 service sector companies.

Meanwhile, the flash Manufacturing PMI for November came in at 48.8, marking the fifth consecutive month of contraction. However, this was a slight improvement from October’s final reading of 48.2, indicating a slower pace of decline.

Among key sub-indices, factory output improved to reach its highest level in four months, suggesting a gradual stabilization in business conditions for manufacturers.

New orders continued to fall amid weak domestic and overseas demand. In particular, foreign demand remained subdued, with export new orders posting the sharpest decline in three months.

Strength in the services sector offset manufacturing weakness, lifting Japan’s composite PMI—which combines both services and manufacturing activity—to 52.0 in November, up from 51.5 in the previous month. The composite PMI has now remained in expansionary territory for eight consecutive months.

Annabel Fiddes, Deputy Chief Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, noted that “inflation remains a key concern across both manufacturing and services,” adding that “inflationary pressures have intensified due to rising labor and raw material costs, with input prices increasing at the fastest pace in six months.”

She further commented, “While companies have raised selling prices to protect margins, the pace of output price inflation eased compared to October.”

jykim@yna.co.kr

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