Japan Industrial Output Slips 0.9% In April

(RTTNews) - Industrial production in Japan was down 0.9 percent on month in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.

That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.4 percent following the 0.2 percent increase in March.

On a yearly basis, industrial production was up 0.7 percent.

Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it continues to fluctuate indecisively.

Shipments were up 0.2 percent both on month and on year and inventories fell 0.5 percent on month and 0.8 percent on year. The inventory ratio was up 0.2 percent on month and 1.2 percent on year.

The METI's forecast for industrial production suggests an increase of 9.0 percent on month in May and a decline of 3.4 percent in June.