Tokyo: Japan’s industrial production grew 2 per cent in February from the previous month for the first rise in two months, the government said on Friday. The reading was better than the average estimate of a 1.2 per cent increase by a Nikkei business daily survey and followed a 0.4 per cent fall in January. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement, industrial production showed “picking up movement.”
The index of production at factories and mines stood at 102.2 against a 2010 baseline of 100, the ministry said.
Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect industrial production to drop 2 per cent in March and jump 8.3 per cent in April.
The index of industrial shipments edged down 0.1 per cent to 99.1 in February from the previous month, and that of industrial inventories rose 0.9 per cent to 108.4, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, consumer prices in Japan rose 0.2 per cent year-on-year in February for the second straight month of increase amid higher global energy prices, the government said on Friday. In January, consumer prices climbed for the first time in 13 months, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. — dpa
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