Japan’s services sector continued to grow in June, and at a slightly faster pace, driven by rising domestic demand. The services PMI for Japan released by Jibun Bank climbed to 51.9 from 51.7 in May.

The reading continued to remain above the 50-threshold, indicating an expansion, for the 33rd consecutive month. Even though sales to overseas clients declined, domestic demand stayed strong, helping the figure continue to rise higher.

Amid falling exports driven by the US-China trade war, a strong services sector can offset some pressure on the Japanese economy. Combined readings for services and factory activity reveal that the Japanese economy grew 0.2% YoY in Q2 2019.

On Wednesday, USD/JPY is trading lower at 107.634, at the time of writing.