FX.co ★ Japan Industrial Production Sinks 4.6% In January

Industrial production in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 4.6 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday.

That was shy of expectations for a decline of 2.6 percent following the 0.3 percent increase in December.

On a yearly basis, industrial output fell 2.3 percent after skipping 2.4 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI downgraded its assessment of industrial production, saying that it has weakened.

Shipments were down 3.1 percent on month and 2.4 percent on year, while inventories fell 0.9 percent on month and gained 3.2 percent on year. The inventory ratio advanced 2.5 percent on month and 9.6 percent on year.

According to the METI's forecast of industrial production, output is expected to jump 8.0 percent in February and rise 0.7 percent in March.