Japon PMI Services

The au Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI was revised lower to 53.7 in August 2024 from a preliminary estimate of 54.0. While marking the 7th time of expansion in the service sector so far this year, the latest result was unchanged from July. New orders rose for the second month, though its growth rate eased from that in July. At the same time, export sales rose after a drop in the prior month. Employment gained for the 11th month despite job creation hitting its lowest since January. The rate of depletion in outstanding business was modest but the most marked since April 2022. On the cost side, price burdens were strongly higher due to higher wage, material, and transport costs but its inflation rate was little changed. Prices charged inflation eased further from April's 10-year high to reach the softest since November 2023. Lastly, sentiment stayed upbeat and was stronger than the series average. That said, the degree of optimism reached its lowest since January 2023.