— Japan Mar Industrial Output +1.0% M/M: MNI F’cast +2.1%
— Japan Mar Industry Output Posts 1st Rise in 2 Mths; Feb -1.6%
— METI Forecast Index: Japan Apr Output +1.0% M/M, May -4.1%
— METI Repeats: Japan Industrial Output Has Been Picking Up
— Japan Q1 Industrial Output +1.2% Q/Q Vs +0.4%
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s industrial output rebounded in March, led by
the auto industry, amid easing concerns about global growth and the
yen’s rise but factory operators foresee a patchy recovery, data from
the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade showed Friday.
Production at the nation’s factories and mines rose a seasonally
adjusted 1.0% in March from the previous month after falling 1.6% in the
previous month. This pushed up the industrial output index to 95.3, but
it was still below the pre-disaster level of 98.5 in February 2011.
The March headline figure came in worse than the median forecast
for a 2.1% rise in a MNI survey of economists, while it was below a 2.6%
gain predicted in the previous month’s METI report.
METI’s latest survey of firms’ forecasts showed that overall
production is expected to rise 1.0% m/m in April — revised up from the
0.7% gain estimated in the previous survey — before dropping 4.1% in
May (first estimate).
Based on the latest data and the outlook for the next two months,
METI maintained its overall assessment saying: “Industrial production
has been picking up.”
In March, output of transportation equipment, including
automobiles, rose 2.7% from the previous month, while output of
information/technology equipment, such as notebook computers, gained
7.3%.
In the January-March quarter, output rose 1.2% from the previous
quarter, marking a third straight quarterly rise after +0.4% in the
final quarter of 2011.
Compared with year-earlier levels, Japan’s industrial production in
March rose 13.9%, marking a second straight rise.
Other details from the latest data:
Shipments: Mar -0.1% m/m Vs. Feb +0.3%, the first fall in two
months.
Inventories: Mar +4.3% m/m Vs. Feb -0.5%, the first rise in two
months.
The inventory-to-shipments ratio: Mar +4.6% m/m Vs. Feb -2.7%, the
first rise in two months.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$,MT$$$$]
