According to CoinMeta, Japan's manufacturing sector shows a steady economic expansion, despite ongoing cost pressures. Phil Smith from S&P Global Market Intelligence stated that although output growth and new orders have declined, Japan's manufacturing sector still maintained a relatively robust expansion pace at the beginning of the fourth quarter when viewed from a historical perspective. S&P Global Manufacturing Composite Index fell to a seven-month low in October, but it still reached 53.3, which is significantly higher than the long-term average of 50.6 and far above the 50 threshold that distinguishes between economic expansion and contraction. Smith noted that driven by an increase in backlogs and demand related to artificial intelligence, manufacturing companies remain confident. Despite the high cost pressures that continue to cause concerns about costs, manufacturers are still demonstrating strong pricing power as the number of unfinished orders increases.