Japan Industrial Output Up 2.5% On Month In Jan

Sponsored Links

Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday, climbing for the 11th consecutive month.

That was sharply higher than analyst expectations for a 1.0 percent increase following the 1.9 percent gain in December.

On an annual basis, industrial production jumped 18.2 percent - again topping forecasts for a 16.5 percent increase after the 5.1 percent gain in the previous month.

Industries that mainly contributed to the increase include transport equipment, chemicals and fabricated metals. Commodities that mainly contributed to the increase include large passenger cars, transmission and control parts and bearings.

Inventories were up 1.0 percent on month in January, the data showed, rising for the first time in two months. They were down 12.6 percent on year.

Shipments climbed 2.4 percent on month and19.3 percent on year, climbing for the 11th consecutive month. The inventory-shipment ratio added 1.0 percent on month, gaining for the first time in three months.

According to the Survey of Production Forecast in Manufacturing, production is expected to ease 0.8 percent on month in February and increase 1.6 percent in March.

Industries that contributed to the decrease in February include electronic parts, information and communication electronics equipment and transport equipment.

Industries that contributed to the increase in March include electronic parts and devices, electrical machinery and transport equipment.

Also on Friday, the METI said that retail sales in Japan climbed 2.6 percent to 11.155 trillion yen in January compared to the previous year, rising for the first time in 17 months.

That was sharply higher than analyst expectations for a 0.2 percent decline following the revised 0.2 percent contraction in December.

Sales from large retailers fell 4.6 percent on year to 1.716 trillion yen, matching both the forecasts and the rate of decline from the previous month.

On a monthly basis, retail sales surged by a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent versus forecasts for a 0.3 percent increase after the 1.1 percent contraction in December.

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)