Japan’s industrial production rose 2.5% mom in February, beating market expectations of 1.9% mom gain. The strong growth was driven by key tech-related sectors, with chipmaking machinery output jumping 8.2% and electronic parts and devices surging 10.1%.
A survey by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry projects continued, albeit modest, gains in output of 0.6% mom in March and 0.1% mom in April.
While the headline data is encouraging, the METI acknowledged that the outlook could quickly shift. Though no direct production impact from the proposed US tariffs has been reported yet, METI emphasized the need to monitor the situation more closely going forward.
On the consumer side, retail sales grew just 1.4% yoy, missing expectations of a 2.4% rise.
