TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Industrial output in Japan fell a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday.
That missed expectations for a decline of 0.7 percent following the 1.0 percent drop in December.
On a yearly basis, industrial production sank 0.9 percent - again shy of expectations for a fall of 0.5 percent following the 2.7 percent increase in the previous month.
Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is showing signs of upward movement.
Industries that contributed to the decline included motor vehicles, iron and steel and chemicals. These were offset by increases among electronic parts and production machinery.
Shipments were down 1.8 percent on month and 1.2 percent on year, while inventories fell 1.8 percent on month and climbed 4.1 percent on year. The inventory ratio was down 1.3 percent on month and up 4.1 percent on year.
According to the METI's forecast for industrial production, output is expected to rise 5.7 percent on February and 0.1 percent in March.
Industries contributing to the increase in February include transport equipment, production machinery and electronic parts. Industries contributing to the gain in March include transport equipment, electrical machinery and chemicals.
Also on Monday, the METI said that the value of retail sales in Japan was up 1.6 percent on year in January. That beat expectations for an increase of 1.4 percent and was up from the downwardly revised 1.2 percent gain in the previous month (originally 1.4 percent).
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales tumbled 1.9 percent - missing forecasts for a fall of 1.5 percent following the downwardly revised 1.2 percent decline in December (originally -1.0 percent).
Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2022 AFX News