Japan Service Sector Ebbs In April - S&P Global

(RTTNews) - The service sector in Japan continued to expand in April, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a services PMI score of 51.0.

That's down from 53.4 in March, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Where activity levels had increased, firms often attributed this to improved new order inflows and company expansions. However, uncertainty and rising costs due to the war in the Middle East had reportedly dampened overall activity. Data broken down by sub-sector indicated that Finance & Insurance and Transport & Storage posted the strongest performances. Total new orders followed a similar trend to business activity, rising at a marginal rate that was the slowest since last October. The weaker overall upturn in sales was partly linked to softer overseas demand for Japanese services.

The survey also showed hat the composite PMI fell to 52.2 in April from 53.0 in March.

Contrasting trends were seen at the sector level, with a slower rise in services activity offsetting the quickest upturn in manufacturing output in over 12 years. Composite new orders rose modestly in April, despite the rate of growth picking up slightly from March. Foreign demand for Japanese goods and services meanwhile increased at the slowest rate in 2026 to date. Employment across Japan continued to rise, despite confidence hitting the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.