Japan's industrial production declines

Japan’s industrial production fell at its fastest pace in eight months in January, partly due to the pressure from falling overseas demand on the automotive and chip equipment sectors. Industrial production fell 4.6 percent in January compared to the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted data. Economists had expected industrial production to shrink by 2.6 percent. Production had risen 0.3 percent in December. Vehicle production fell 10.1 percent in January, while production machinery and electronic parts manufacturing fell 13.5 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment production also fell 26.8 percent. In January, when industrial production was falling rapidly, retail sales saw their fastest growth in almost two years. Retail sales rose 6.3 percent in January compared to the same period last year. Economists had expected an increase of 4.0 percent. Although production decreased, vehicle sales grew 19.3 percent annually. Retail sales increased 1.9 percent in January compared to the previous month. The increase in December had been 1.1 percent.