Growth in the Japanese manufacturing sector gathered momentum in the latest survey period. New business expanded at the fastest rate since March 2014, while rising demand from China supported a nine-month high in export growth. In turn, firms raised production to the greatest extent in 45 months.

The headline Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - increased in November to 53.6, from 52.8 in October. This signalled the strongest improvement in manufacturing sector conditions since March 2014