The manufacturing sector in Japan expanded in January, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.5.
That's up from 50.0 in December, which was right on the boom-or-bust line that separates expansion from contraction.
The report also showed that the services PMI improved to 53.4 from 51.6 a month earlier and the composite PMI climbed to 52.8 from 51.1.
Services companies signaled the strongest increase in new work for four months, while manufacturers posted the first upturn in sales since May 2023.
Foreign demand for Japanese goods and services meanwhile increased for the first time since last March, which was supported by stronger growth at services companies and the first increase in goods exports for nearly four years. Greater customer demand led to a stronger accumulation of outstanding workloads at the start of the year.
At the composite level, backlogs expanded at the quickest rate since the series began in September 2007. A solid rise in unfinished work at services companies coincided with the first upturn in outstanding business at manufacturers for three and a half years.