Japan's Manufacturing Sector Grew to 54.8 in January

The manufacturing data from Japan progressed at a quicker pace in almost four years in January with a strong output and employment growth as it is on the path of recovery according to the report on Thursday

The final Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was seasonally revised to 54.8 in January and adjusted to a preliminary reading of 54.4 compared to the figure of 54.0 in December.

The index sustained the level above the 50 mark which separates the contraction from expansion for 17 succeeding months as it reached a record-level since February three years ago.

New business opportunities have risen in four years which was deemed to be the fastest increase in output in February 2014, according to an economist of IHS Markit, Joe Hayes. This boosted confidence amid a strong economic situation that the official data also suggested following a four-month high.

A factor of the PMI index was 54.7 which is similar to the preliminary that has increased from 54.5 in the previous month but also to reach the peak that was just achieved in three years.  

The employment reading reached its peak in eleven months compared to the final index for out prices that increase to 52.5 compared to the preliminary with 52.0 and 51.0 in December, which is also the highest level since October 2008.

The output prices sub-index implies that assessing the government data particularly on the consumer prices and start to increase. This is an optimistic outlook for the Japanese central bank in reaching its two percent inflation target.

The Gross domestic product progressed in the past seven quarters which has been the highest since 1994. The output gap shows the demand has exceeded supply over nine years. Stock prices are the highest in 26 years and corporate profits are close to the record high.