Japan factory output up 0.8% month-on-month in June

[TOKYO] Japan's factory output increased a greater-than-expected 0.8 per cent month-on-month in June, reversing a drop in the previous month, official data showed on Thursday.

The reading from the industry ministry was better than the median forecast for an increase of 0.3 per cent in a survey of economists carried out by Bloomberg News.

In May, industrial production fell 2.1 per cent compared to April.

The industry ministry also said Thursday a survey of manufacturers' output projections showed expected growth by 0.5 per cent in July and another 2.7 per cent in August.

A sales tax hike last year hammered consumer spending and briefly sent the economy into recession, but Japan crept out of contraction in the last quarter of 2014.

AFP