Japan’s services sector plunges as coronavirus takes toll on businesses

January had seen Japan’s services sector contract at its fastest pace in five months. The decline could be attributed to the country’s virus-beaten demand and nationwide emergency measures that, in turn, dragged new business orders.

The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rendered a seasonally adjusted 46.1 reading. The weak figure came lower than December’s 47.7 record, placing as the sharpest level of decline since August.

The revised reading, which placed higher than the initial record of 45.7, still stood below the 50 threshold that separates growth from decline. This was mainly from a faster pace of contraction seen by new and outstanding businesses. In line with this, the composite PMI also plunged to its sharpest since September.