-
Japan April manufacturing PMI returns to expansion but export orders, output still falling
Japanese manufacturing activity expanded in April for the first time in three months as companies hired more workers and grew more optimistic about the business outlook, a preliminary survey showed on Tuesday. But the survey also showed new export orders fell in April at a faster rate than the previous month, in a reminder of the damage to Asia’s exporters from the U.S.-China trade war and weak global demand for semiconductors. The Markit/Nikkei Japan Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 50.2 in April from a final 49.2 in the previous month. For the first time since ... (full story)