TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese manufacturing activity contracted in February for the first time in two-and-a-half years as factories cut output amid shrinking domestic and export orders, a private business survey showed on Thursday.
The survey also showed business confidence in Japan soured for the first time in more than six years, highlighting the growing toll that the U.S.-China trade war is inflicting on Asia’s export-reliant economies and global manufacturing.
The Flash Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 48.5 in February from a final 50.3 in January.
[To read the original article, click here.]