Industrial production in Japan falls surprisingly: -1,2% in February, mainly due to the downturn in auto and semiconductor production. This is what the Japanese Ministry of Economy announced today.
The reading is lower than economists' expectations, which they expected a 1,3% increase. In January, industrial production had risen by 2%, taking advantage of a rebound after the supply difficulties experienced by the auto and electronics companies.
However, positive signals also come from the Japanese economy: unemployment has dropped to 4,5% (from the previous 4,6%) and household consumption has risen by 2,3% per annum in February, mainly due to the marked increase in purchases of household appliances (+53,2%) and motorized vehicles (+23,4%). This is the sharpest increase recorded since the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.
