The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI increased to 53.2 in March 2022 from a final 52.7 a month earlier, which was the weakest growth since last September, signalling a moderate improvement in the sector, amid declining Covid-19 infections, preliminary data showed. Output returned to expansion territory, albeit only marginally, while new order growth eased to the softest in six months, with slowing in new export order growth. Meanwhile, supplier delivery times lengthened to the greatest extent since April 2011, amid material shortages, notably semiconductors. Purchasing activity growth accelerated, while the rate of job creation slowed, with the rate of backlog accumulation softened. On the price side, input price inflation accelerated to the fastest since August 2008, due to higher energy, oil and semiconductor prices. As a result, output price inflation accelerated. Finally, business confidence remained positive. source: Markit Economics