TOKYO : Japan's factory output shrank at the fastest pace in eight months in January as shrinking overseas demand amid a global economic slowdown took a heavy toll on business activity.Factory output fell 4.6 per cent in January from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, government data showed o
TOKYO : Japan's factory output shrank at the fastest pace in eight months in January as shrinking overseas demand amid a global economic slowdown took a heavy toll on business activity.
Factory output fell 4.6 per cent in January from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, government data showed on Tuesday. The contraction was much larger than economists' median forecast of a 2.6 per cent decline and followed an upwardly-revised 0.3 per cent increase in December. Output of auto products slumped 10.1 per cent, dragging down the overall index. Outputs of items such as production machinery and electronic parts dropped 13.5 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively.
Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expect output to rise 8.0 per cent in February and gain 0.7 per cent in March, the data also showed, although the official poll tends to report an optimistic outlook. Separate data showed Japanese retail sales rose 6.3 per cent in January from a year earlier, beating a median market forecast for a 4.0 per cent gain and posting an eleventh consecutive month of expansion.Japan's economy, the world's third-largest, is expected to post an annualised 1.4 per cent expansion in January-March according to a Reuters poll, after weaker-than-expected 0.6 per cent growth in the final quarter of 2022.
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