TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity
slowed in August for the first time in two months as worries
about a strong yen and subdued demand from China weighed on new
export orders, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Markit/JMMA Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index
(PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 51.9 in August from 52.1 in
July. The index remained above the 50 threshold that separates
contraction from expansion for a fourth month but slipped to its
lowest since June.
The index for new export orders, a leading indicator of
Japanese exports, fell to 48.0 from 48.8 in July to reach its
lowest level since April, the data showed.
New export orders contracted for the sixth consecutive month
in August, the longest such streak since the global financial
crisis.
'PMI survey data suggest that domestic demand drove overall
manufacturing expansion in August, as new export business
continued to fall amid persistent yen strength and reports of
sluggish demand from China,' said Alex Hamilton, an economist at
Markit.
Japanese officials intervened unilaterally in the currency
market and eased monetary policy on Aug. 4 as the yen
approached a record high versus the dollar. Still, these steps
have not stopped investors from seeking the yen as a safe haven
against risk.
The output component of the PMI index fell to 52.2 in August
from 53.1 in July to reach the lowest in two months.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Joseph Radford)
((stanley.white@thomsonreuters.com)(+81 3 6441 1984)(Reuters
Messaging: stanley.white.reuters.com@reuters.net))
(If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com Detailed PMI data is only available under licence from the supplier, Markit, and customers need to apply to Markit for a licence To subscribe to the full data, click on: http://www.markit.com/information/register/reuters-pmi-subscriptions For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email economics@markit.com)
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