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Tokyo - Japan's factory output grew the most in six months in November as a recovery in export demand from Asia boosted production of cars, flat screen televisions and other goods in the world's second-biggest economy.
Factory output - a key barometer of Japan's economic health - was up 2.6% from October and logged its ninth consecutive month of growth, the government said Monday.
"A recovery in exports, especially in Asia, supported growth in industrial output," said Hideki Matsumura, senior economist at the Japan Research Institute.
Japan's exports to Asia totaled ¥2.7 trillion in November _ more than those to North America (¥920bn) and Western Europe (¥624bn) combined, the finance ministry said last week. Exports to China alone in November rose 7.8%, the first increase in 14 months.
Among key sectors, November output for transportation machines, which include passenger cars, jumped 5.9%. Output for information technology equipment, which includes popular liquid crystal display televisions, gained 2.7%.
Shipments in November edged up 0.9% month-on-month with inventories rising 0.2%. The government forecast industrial output will grow by 3.4% in December and 1.3% in January.
While growth in Japan's factory output was stronger than expected, the nation's retail sales in November fell 1.0% from a year earlier, marking the 15th consecutive month of decline.
Japanese retail sales continued to sink amid a prolonged slump in domestic demand, with department sales down 9.6% and food retail sales falling 4.1% in the month, the trade ministry said.
Japan has struggled to shake off its worst recession since World War II amid deflation and a strong yen, which erodes the profits of Japanese exporters.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama vowed Friday his government would do its utmost to spur Japan's nascent economic recovery. He unveiled a record ¥92.29 trillion budget for the next fiscal year starting in April 2010.
- AP
