There was a further improvement in the health of Japan's manufacturing economy during March, with growth underpinned by rising levels of output, new orders and employment. Although rates of expansion eased in all cases, they nonetheless remained solid and were underpinned by marked gains in the capital goods sector. While yen depreciation provided some positive support to new export orders, the corollary was further inflation in imported goods prices. This led to another marked rise in manufacturers' input costs, which served to eat into margins as manufacturers were in general unable to pass on higher costs to clients.

The headline Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' IndexTM - a composite singlefigure indicator of manufacturing performance - slipped to its lowest level of the year so far in March. Down from 53.3, the PMI posted a level of 52.4, a reading consistent with solid growth. March also marked the seventh month in succession that an improvement in sector health has been recorded.