2021.01.2823:24:00UTC+00Japan Industrial Output Drops 1.6% On Month In December

Industrial production in Japan dropped a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent on month in December, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.

That missed forecasts for a decline of 1.5 percent following the 0.5 percent fall in November.

On a yearly basis, industrial production sank 3.2 percent - beating forecasts for a decline of 3.3 percent after the 3.9 percent drop in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is picking up.

Industries that contributed to the decline were business-oriented machinery, motor vehicles and electrical machinery - offset by gains among chemicals and electronic parts.

Shipments were down 1.6 percent on month and 3.4 percent on year, while inventories rose 1.1 percent on month and dropped 8.4 percent on year. The inventory ratio was up 2.0 percent on month and down 3.1 percent on year.

The METI's forecast of industrial production suggests an increase of 8.9 percent on month in January and a decline of 0.3 percent in February.

Industries expected to contribute to the increase in January include electronic parts, production machinery and business-oriented machinery.

Industries expected to contribute to the decline in February include business-oriented machinery, transport equipment and electrical machinery.

Also on Friday: . The unemployment rate in Japan was a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said - unchanged from the November reading but was shy of forecasts for 3.0 percent.

The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.06 - unchanged and in line with expectations.

. Overall consumer prices in the Tokyo region were down 0.5 percent on year in January, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said - following the 1.3 percent drop in December.

Individually, prices were down for food, fuel, medical care, transportation and education. Prices were up for housing, furniture, clothing and recreation.

Core CPI was down 0.4 percent on year versus expectations for a fall of 0.6 percent following the 0.9 percent decline in the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, overall inflation was up 0.5 percent and core CPI gained 0.6 percent.