Japanese Industrial Production's Upside Surprise

FT's Alphaville:

The FT reports that Japan’s industrial output bounced back 5.2 per cent in April compared with the previous month, a stronger rise than analysts expected and a boost to hopes. What’s more, with government stimulus spending starting to support demand and manufacturers starting to reverse the drastic cuts to production imposed by a collapse of demand since late last year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said surveyed manufacturers expected their output to rise a further 8.8 percent in May and 2.7 percent in June.

Good news? Absolutely. But keep this in perspective. Even with that jump, Industrial Production in Japan is down 31% from April of 2008.



Source: Meti.Go