Japan’s services sector activities declined in March as businesses is struggling to fully shake off the impact of the coronavirus pandemic which was showed by a private survey showed, but the pace of the downturn was the slowest since January last year.
The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 48.3 from the previous month’s 46.3 and a preliminary 46.5 reading. That meant service-sector activity stayed below the 50 level.
Businesses are set for more challenges over the short term. On Thursday, the government has decided to impose emergency measures, such as shorter business hours and refrain from activities like karaoke, in parts of some prefectures, including Osaka in western Japan in response to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
Elsewhere, Japan might need to compile a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to combat the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic, a senior ruling party official was saying in a television programme on Sunday.
Toshihiro Nikai, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s secretary general, said in the programme that “If there’s any shortage of funds, we’d like to always respond aggressively including by compiling a supplementary budget.”
But Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga raised concern over the idea of compiling a supplementary budget, by stressing that the existing pool of funds would be sufficient to meet any unforeseen costs.
On the other hand, The dollar was keeping steady on Monday as investors overcame last week’s strong U.S. employment report and looked ahead to upcoming data on the U.S. services sector for affirmation of a solid economic rebound from the coronavirus shock.
The U.S. currency is likely to build on those gains as investors look for ways to bet on a global economic recovery from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, analysts said.
USD/JPY 4 Hour Chart:
Latest
Popular
Trending
Archives
Search
Top Tags