Operating conditions in Japan's manufacturing sector continued to deteriorate in February. Both output and new orders fell at sharper rates, amid reports of deteriorating demand conditions in both domestic and international markets. Lower capacity requirements contributed to a second successive bout of job shedding, and one that was the most marked since January 2021. There was some positivity on the price front however, as input costs rose at a softer, yet still historically high, rate. This contributed to the slowest increase in factory gate charges since mid-2021. The headline au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing ... (full story)