Japan Industrial Production Gains 2.7% In June

Industrial output in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent on month in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.

That beat forecasts for a gain of 1.2 percent following the 8.9 percent decline in May.

On a yearly basis, industrial production sank 17.7 percent - again beating forecasts for a fall of 20 percent following the 26.3 percent contraction in the previous month.

Industries that contributed to the monthly increase included motor vehicle, production machinery and plastic products - offset by weakness from chemicals, paper and other manufacturing.

Upon the release of the data, the METI upgraded its assessment of industrial production, saying that it has bottomed out and shows signs of picking up movement.

Shipments were up 5.2 percent on month and down 16.3 percent on year, while inventories fell 2.4 percent on month and 3.4 percent on year. The inventory ratio sank 7.0 percent on month but surged 22.7 percent on year.

According to the METI's Survey of Production Forecast, output is expected to rise 11.3 percent on month in June and 3.4 percent in August.

Also on Friday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that Japan's unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent in June. That beat forecasts for 3.1 percent and was down from 2.9 percent in May.

The job-to-applicant ration fell to 1.11, missing expectations for 1.16 and down from 1.2 in the previous month.

The number of employed persons in June was 66.70 million, a decrease of 770,000 from the previous year. The number of unemployed persons in June was 1.95 million, an increase of 330,000 from the previous year.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com

source http://www.mt5.com/forex_news/quickview/2161255/