Japan’s factory output last month rose for the seventh straight month as recovering global trade boosted demand for the country’s cars and electronics.
Industrial production — a key barometer of the nation’s economic health — rose 1.4 percent from August and “continues to show an upward movement,” the government said yesterday.
The figure outpaced a 1 percent rise forecast in a Kyodo News agency survey of economists.
Strong gains among manufacturers of transport equipment, electronics parts and electrical machinery contributed to the gains, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s monthly report said.
Production is expected to continue expanding for the third straight quarter in October to December after posting a 7.2 percent rise in the July-September period. The ministry forecast that output would grow 3.1 percent this month and 1.9 percent next month.
Shipments rose 3.4 percent, while inventories slipped 0.5 percent.
Still, some economists tempered their confidence of Japan’s prospects with predictions the current growth may not last. The country’s unemployment rate is stuck at a near-record high of 5.5 percent as companies remain wary of spending and hiring. Concerns about deflation are also intensifying after prices in Japan tumbled at a record pace in August.
“For the time being policy expectations should support production growth,” Goldman Sachs economist Chiwoong Lee said in a note to clients. “But we continue to warn of downside risk for demand in the current employment and income situation when the policy boost in Japan and overseas starts to fade.”
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