Japan’s S&P Global Composite PMI slipped to 52.9 in March from a final 53.9 in February, flash data showed. While marking a 12th straight month of expansion in private sector business, the latest result was the weakest pace since December. Both manufacturing output and services activity lost momentum, with new orders rising at the weakest rate in three months and export demand expanding only modestly. Employment growth eased to a four-month low, while capacity pressures persisted, though backlogs rose less sharply than February’s record pace. On inflation, input costs climbed at the fastest rate in nearly a year, linked to supply chain disruptions and higher energy prices from the Middle East conflict. Yet output price inflation softened to a three-month low. Finally, business sentiment fell to an 11-month low amid geopolitical uncertainty, driven by weaker expectations in the service sector, while manufacturers remained relatively optimistic.