Industrial output hits post-Lehman high in Dec.

January 31, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's industrial production in December hit the highest level since before the slump caused by the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, government data showed Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted industrial production index for the manufacturing and mining sectors stood at 106.3 against 100 for the base year of 2010, reaching the highest level since October 2008, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

The index rose 2.7 percent from the previous month, up for the third consecutive month. The result outpaced a median forecast of a 1.6 percent rise in a Jiji Press poll of 21 economic research institutes.

The ministry maintained its view that industrial production is picking up.

Production rose in 12 of the 15 industry sectors covered by the ministry survey.

An increase in output for automobiles, auto parts and excavators led the overall production growth in the reporting month.

The industrial shipment index stood at 103.9, up 2.7 percent, and the inventory index at 109.4, down 0.4 percent.

Output is projected to decline 4.3 percent in January, dragged down by a fall in the automobile industry, but rebound 5.7 percent in February thanks to a recovery in the sector, the ministry said.

In 2017, the industrial production index climbed 4.5 percent from the previous year to 102.1, posting the first rise in three years and marking the highest level since 2008.

For the October-December quarter, the index went up 1.8 percent from the previous quarter to 104.3, up for the seventh straight quarter. Jiji Press