business

Japan revises down November factory output

1 Comment

Japan's factory output in November was weaker than first reported with industrial production turning down 0.1%, according to revised data Monday, in the latest sign of slowing growth.

The reading -- which came after preliminary data had shown a 0.1% rise in output on-month -- also marked the first contraction in three months.

However, figures last week showed November machinery orders -- a key measure of capital spending -- jumped 9.3% from October to a five-year high, suggesting a pick-up in corporate investment.

The figures are a key yardstick for the success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy blitz, dubbed "Abenomics", aimed at stoking growth in Japan's long-lumbering economy.

Despite Abe's much-lauded start since sweeping national elections just over a year ago, analysts have been warning that Tokyo's bold pro-growth program -- a mix of big government spending and central bank monetary easing -- is not enough on its own without promised economic reforms.

Bank of Japan policymakers will be poring over the latest figures as they hold a two-day meeting that ends Wednesday, with December trade and inflation figures due earlier that day.

The BOJ is expected to hold steady on new monetary easing measures until it can gauge the effect of an April sales tax rise, which critics have warned could derail a recovery in the world's third-largest economy.

Japan's economic growth slowed to 0.3% in the third-quarter of 2013, well down from 0.9% growth in the previous three months.

The once-anemic economy had been outpacing other G7 nations in the first half of the year as Abe's policy drive helped push down the yen, giving a boost to exporters and sparking a stock market rally.

© (c) 2014 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

1 Comment
Login to comment

The G7 nations, excluding Japan, have outsourced virtually all of their of their manufacturing capacity.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites