Those cost pressures were evident in output price inflation,
which expanded at the strongest rate to a five-month high as
companies sought to secure profits through higher selling
prices.
Supplier delivery delays, which have been below the 50.0
threshold since February 2020, were the least prevalent in the
current sequence for April, the survey showed.
"Firms often attributed this to the weaknesses in demand,
however, which had reduced pressure on material availability,"
said economist Usamah Bhatti at S&P Global Market Intelligence,
which compiles the survey.
Employment grew at the strongest pace since October, while
business confidence remained robust and little changed from
March.
(Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu
Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) - Japan's factory activity
contracted for the sixth straight month in April, but the
details of a private survey released on Monday showed the
manufacturing sector was edging towards stabilisation amid a
slower decline in new orders.
The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing
Managers' Index was up slightly at 49.5 in April from March's
49.2, and matched the flash reading.
New orders contracted at the softest pace since July while
remaining below the 50.0 threshold for a tenth consecutive month
as inbound demand stabilised moderately.
Factory output also contracted for a tenth consecutive
month, with some manufacturers citing that raw materials
shortages had weighed on production.
The final PMI reading comes after government data last week
showed Japanese factory output rising slightly in March while a
survey of manufacturers forecast a 4.1% increase in April.
Japan's economy is recovering moderately from the
COVID-driven downturn, but there is a rise in bankruptcies, a
Japanese government monthly economic report said last week,
while reiterating a warning against global financial volatility
in response to the recent Western bank collapses.
Input price inflation eased to its slowest pace since August
2021, although prices were still relatively high to due rising
costs for raw materials.
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