TOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in Japan
fell to a seven-year low in October, the Japan Purchasing
Managers Index showed on Friday, a sign of worsening conditions
in the manufacturing sector as a global slowdown and the credit
crisis push the economy closer to recession.
The Nomura/JMMA Japan Purchasing Managers Index, which gives
an early snapshot of the health of manufacturing, sank to
seasonally adjusted 42.2 in October from 44.3 in September.
A reading below 50 points to a contraction, while a figure
above that suggests an expansion.
Results of the survey were as follows:
(Seasonally adjusted) Oct Sept Aug July June
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PMI 42.2 44.3 46.9 47.0 46.5
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Output# 39.7 40.9 43.7 44.2 44.4
New orders 34.5 39.6 44.1 43.2 42.0
New export orders 37.5 45.4 48.0 47.3 45.7
Backlog 37.5 39.1 43.3 43.3 41.0
Finished goods stocks 52.1 52.0 50.1 48.4 50.3
Employment# 46.7 46.9 49.8 50.4 50.6
Output prices 55.0 58.1 55.8 59.6 54.9
Input prices 63.7 68.3 78.4 78.5 75.9
Supplier delivery time# 49.8 48.9 49.4 48.0 48.3
Purchase quantity 41.2 42.9 44.9 46.8 45.9
Stocks of purchases# 50.7 51.1 51.9 51.7 49.3
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# denotes five components of purchasing managers' index.
Data for the survey has been collected since October 2001,
based on responses from more than 400 manufacturers.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto)