The activity in Japan's services sector observed a slight decrease in February compared to the previous month, with the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) landing at 52.5, compared to the previous month's figure of 53.1, S&P Global said in its report.
Meanwhile, the Manufacturing PMI fell from 48 in January to 47.2 in February. The composite PMI, which takes into account the results achieved in the two aforementioned sectors, decreased from last month's 51.5 to 50.3.
"The Japanese private sector economy saw a slight improvement at the start of the year all but evaporated during February, as business activity broadly stagnated. According to the latest Flash PMI data, growth was only fractional, as a softer upturn in services activity was offset by the steepest contraction in manufacturing output for a year," Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said, commenting on the survey results.
