JAPAN has reached its lowest PMI reading since December 2001, with the Japan Purchasing Managers Index showed manufacturing activity fell to a seven-year low in October, suggesting conditions in the sector may be worsening as a global slowdown and credit crisis push the country further towards recession.
The Nomura/JMMA Japan Purchasing Managers Index, which gives an early snapshot of the health of manufacturing, sank to a seasonally adjusted 42.2 in October, below the 50 mark dividing growth from contraction for the eighth straight months.