The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Services Business Activity Index unexpectedly slipped to 54.2 in June 2023 from a record-high of 55.9 in May, signaling the softest upturn in activity for four months but one that was still strong overall.
The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan composite PMI, which covers both manufacturing and service sector activity, was 52.3 in June, down from a decade high of 54.3 in May.
“After posting its second-strongest expansion on record in May, driven largely by the service sector, the latest Flash PMI data indicate that growth momentum slowed across Japan’s private sector at the end of the second quarter. A fresh fall in manufacturing output coincided with a softer rise in services activity, leading to the weakest expansion of overall output for four months. The softening of growth momentum fed through to reduced optimism around the outlook, with business confidence slipping to a five-month low,” said Annabel Fiddes, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Finally, business sentiment remained positive, despite weakening from the previous month.
