Japan’s Industrial Output Falls 2.5% in April

Japan’s industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in April from the previous month as manufacturers scaled back on output which they had boosted ahead of the sales tax hike, prompting the government to downgrade its assessment of production for the first time since September 2012, government data showed Friday.

In revising downward the basic assessment of production, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said it “appears to be flat,” compared with the previous month’s phrase saying it continued to “show upward momentum.”

The index of production at factories and mines stood at 99.6 against the base of 100 in 2010, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

Looking ahead, manufacturers polled by the ministry expect output to rise 1.7 percent in May, but drop back 2.0 percent in June.

Shotaro Kugo, economist at Daiwa Institute of Research, said that the impact of the 3-percentage-point consumption tax hike to 8 percent implemented last month has been “largely within expectation,” and production is expected to recover down the road, supported by an increase in exports.

“There are signs of a global economic recovery and I don’t think output will continue to drop” after June, Kugo said.

via Mainichi

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.