- Gold Hits $1,121, Barrick Chief Says Selloff Possible
- Foreclosures Fall Again But Improvement Likely Fleeting
- Highest State Foreclosure Rates
- Jobless, Wal-Mart to Drive Sentiment on Thursday
- Yuan Critics Want Obama to Keep Campaign Promise
- Dollar Trouble, Oil's Bubble Could Derail Recovery
- Hewlett-Packard to Acquire 3Com for $2.7 Billion in Cash
- AIG CEO: I Remain 'Totally Committed' to Firm
- CNN Anchor Lou Dobbs Says He is Leaving Network
- What to Expect From Disney Earnings?
- HP's Shot Across Cisco's Bow
- USC Football Blog Leads All-Access Space
- Clowning Around At Work
- Ahead of Earnings Disney Restructures Studio
- Nov. 11: Unusual Volume Leaders
- 3 'Clear Sailing' Mid-Caps For Investors: Strategist
- Intimate Apparel Sales Heating Up: Maidenform CEO
- A Day On The USS Harry S. Truman
MOST SHARED
- Hewlett-Packard to Acquire 3Com for $2.7 Billion in Cash
- How the Droid and Google Threaten the GPS Makers
- Dollar Trouble, Oil's Bubble Could Derail Recovery
- USC Football Blog Leads All-Access Space
- Addicted to Easy Money?
- Shopping for Answers
- Credit Is Thawing, But Businesses Still Hesitant to Borrow
- Rising Jobless Biggest Threat to World Trade: WTO
- CNN Anchor Lou Dobbs Says He is Leaving Network
Manufacturing activity in Japan rebounded slightly in July from a six-year low the previous month, but a slowing economy and rising energy costs continued to hamper operating conditions, a survey showed on Thursday.
![]() |
CNBC.com |
The Nomura/JMMA Japan Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which gives an early snapshot of the health of manufacturing, rose to a seasonally adjusted 47.0 in July from 46.5 in June, which was the lowest since February 2002.
The index remained below 50, suggesting a contraction, for the fifth straight month on falling output and new orders.
"The Japanese manufacturing economy continued to suffer in the face of deteriorating domestic demand and rising cost pressures during the month," Paul Smith, senior economist at Markit, said in a report issued together with the survey.
The output index, which reflects industrial production, fell to 44.2 from 44.4 in June, also below 50 for five months in a row and the lowest reading since January 2002.
Reduced output reflected falling levels of incoming new orders and efforts to improve inventory management.
Government data showed on Wednesday that industrial output in April-June for the second straight quarter, the first such drop in seven years, suggesting that the nation's longest postwar growth cycle is fizzling out as high energy costs curtail business activity.
As costs of fuel and other oil items soared, the input prices index rose to a new series high of 78.5, the survey showed, pointing another month of considerable cost inflation led by higher raw material prices such as steel.
"Inflation showed little sign of abating, although the falls in world crude oil prices in recent days may provide some welcome respite for manufacturers next month," Smith added.
In June, Japan's core annual inflation hit a new decade-high while wholesale prices jumped 5.6 percent from a year earlier to hit a fresh 27-year high on surging oil and commodity prices, clouding the outlook for businesses.
The slowdown in the U.S. economy, a major destination for Japanese exports, remained a key source of demand weakness, but new export orders managed to rebound to 47.3 in July from 45.7 in the previous month partly thanks to firm sales to Southeast Asia.
- Bernard and Ruth Madoff's personal possessions will be auctioned this weekend. Click ahead to see.
- US real estate prices have fallen dramatically, but some places are still doing well. See the best-performing zip codes this year.
- An Italian cashmere maker aims to make profits while creating ideal conditions for his workers.
- Just in time for the holidays, the Triumph company of Japan offers the latest innovation in women’s undergarments.
- The real result of health care reform will be bloated government and higher deficits, says Larry Kudlow.
- Vote and suggest your own, and remember--there's a fine line between a hero and a zero.












