Posted on 28 Jun 2013
Japan's factory output rose by a stronger-than-expected 2.0
per cent on-month in May, official data showed Friday, offering up some
validation for Tokyo's efforts to stoke the world's third-largest economy.
The market had expected a rise of about 0.2 per cent.
A corporate survey released with the data showed companies
expect output to fall 2.4 per cent in June and then increase 3.3 per cent in
July.
Separate figures also released Friday showed the jobless
rate was unchanged at 4.1 per cent in May while consumer prices were flat as
the government ramps up a bid to reverse years of deflation which have crimped
growth.
Friday's data comes after earlier figures showed that Japan
logged another trade deficit in May on surging import costs, but exports were
also on the rise.
This week Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he will
spend the next three years rebuilding the nation's fragile economy, having
banished the gloom that covered Japan when he came to power.
Since taking office in December, Abe has launched an
economic policy blitz dubbed "Abenomics", which blends massive
monetary easing, big fiscal spending and a series of reforms aimed at freeing
up businesses.
Japan's sleep-walking economy has been given a jolt by the
moves, with the yen shedding some of its export-sapping strength and the stock
market surging.
Abe faces elections in the upper house of parliament next
month that are widely expected to see a resounding victory that would solidify
his power base.
