The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI declined to 53.4 in April 2022 from a final 54.1 a month earlier, amid declining COVID-19 cases and a lift in pandemic restrictions, preliminary estimates showed. Still, this was the 15th straight month of expansion in factory activity, as output grew for the sixth time in seven months and new order growth continued for a seventh month running, albeit at a softer rate.
At the same time, the job creation fell to a nine-month low, while backlogs of works rose at a softer rate. Meanwhile, buying level quickened on the back of a softer fall in new export orders. On the price side, input price inflation was steady, while output price inflation accelerated. Finally, business confidence softened to weakest since June 2020, amid concerns over the impact of war in Ukraine and uncertainty from pandemic situation in China.