Off the wire
• Tokyo stocks rise on Wall Street gains while Japan data mixed  • Spy watchdog warns Australia against storing metadata  • U.S. condemns deadly attacks in Egypt's Sinai  • 1st LD Writethru: Japan's December jobless rate down to 3.4 pct  • Ye Shiwen spearheads China in four-nation swim meet  • LatAm leaders call for end to U.S. embargo against Cuban  • South Korea's sports officials meet over Park's impending doping hearing  • Japanese firms seek business link with Myanmar  • China has growth potential: McKinsey expert  • New Zealand Green Party to seek new co-leader  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: Japan's December industrial output gains 1 pct

Xinhua, January 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Japan's industrial output in December gained 1 percent in December from the previous month, suggesting the world's third-largest economy may have started to recover from recession brought by the consumption tax hike, the Japanese government said Friday.

The index of output at factories and mines stood at 98.9 against the base of 100 in 2010, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report.

Meanwhile, the ministry upgraded its basic assessment of output, saying it is showing "signs of increase at a moderate pace."

By sector, electronic components and devices manufacturers saw their production increase by 5.2 percent, bolstered by robust exports of parts for smartphones to emerging Asian economies.

Production of the information and communication electronics equipment sector gained 10.8 percent.

In total, four sectors out of 15, including fabricated metals makers and iron and steel makers saw their output decline.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, industrial output gained 1.8 percent from the previous quarter, marking the first rise in three quarters. Endi