The production of Japanese factories flew in January . According to the preliminary estimate of the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (METI), the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production should have risen by 4.2% after the -1% recorded in December . The figure appears to be above expectations which indicated a + 4%.



The forecasts for the following two months show a fluctuating growth trend : the one-month (February) increase of 2.1% and the two-month one (March) a decrease of 6.1%.


On an annual basis, the non-seasonally adjusted figure for production is still indicated in contraction of 5.3% .


The increase in production in January was driven by strong growth in deliveries, which recorded + 3.2%, while inventories fell by 0.2%. The inventory ratio fell by 6.3%.