Japan Industrial Output Falls 0.1%

(RTTNews) - Japan industrial production declined for the second straight month in May, revised from a rebound estimated initially, final data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Monday.

Industrial production dropped 0.1 percent month-on-month in May, following a 1.1 percent decline in April. In the initial estimate, industrial output showed an increase of 0.5 percent.

Shipments grew 2.4 percent over the month, while inventories logged a decrease of 1.8 percent. Data showed that the inventory ratio fell by 1.1 percent.

On a yearly basis, industrial production contracted 2.4 percent versus a 0.5 percent gain in the prior month. Moreover, it was the fastest fall in six months.

Further, data showed that capacity utilization rose 2.0 percent, following a 1.3 percent increase a month ago.