Manufacturing activity in Japan contracts for fifth month

Japan’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in March, showing that the economic recovery is fragile as global demand slows. Japan’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in March, showing that the economic recovery is fragile as global demand slows, a survey showed on Friday, as output and new orders remained subdued. However, service sector activity expanded for a seventh straight month, the fastest rise in nine years, as pressure from the coronavirus pandemic eased. The Au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) remained below the threshold at 48.6 points in March, seasonally adjusted from 47.7 the previous month. The index remained below the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion for a fifth straight month in March. “Manufacturing firms have been more pessimistic at the end of the first quarter, with sustained declines in both output and new orders,” said Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiles the survey.