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The pace of contraction in Japanese manufacturing activity slowed for a fifth straight month in June, a survey showed on Tuesday, as companies gradually recover from Japan's deepest postwar recession.
The Nomura/JMMA Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 48.2 in June, the highest since 48.6 in April 2008, from 46.6 in May.
However, the figure remained below the 50 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for the 16th straight month.
The output component of the PMI index gained for the fifth straight month, to 50.6 from 47.9 in May, edging above the boom-or-bust line for the first time since February 2008.
The index for new export orders rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.2 in June from 49.8 in May, also the fifth month of improvement. That also marked the first growth in export orders in almost a year and a half as global trade recovered from last year's sharp declines.
"We expect the recovery of the Japanese economy to become clearer as the manufacturing sector picks up on the back of rising exports," said Minoru Nogimori, an economist at Nomura Securities.
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A Reuters poll predicts Japan's economy will grow 0.5 percent in April-June after shrinking a record 3.8 percent in the first quarter.
Japan's business sentiment is also recovering. The government's quarterly business survey and the Reuters Tankan both suggest a sharp improvement in the Bank of Japan's tankan survey due out on Wednesday.
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Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes