Japan: Industrial output notches quickest growth since July 2020 in June
Industrial output increased 6.2% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in June, which contrasted May’s 6.5% decrease. The figure marked the best result since July 2020.
On an annual basis, industrial output rose 22.6% in June, which was significantly better than May’s 21.1% expansion and marked the best result since April 2010, although boosted by a generous base effect. Moreover, the trend improved notably, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at a two-year high of minus 0.5% in June, up from May’s minus 3.7%.
Regarding the outlook, Hiromichi Shirakawa and Takashi Shiono, economists at Credit Suisse, commented:
“As per the outlook for Q3, the overall picture appears to remain rather encouraging. Auto production looks likely to gather upward momentum, as the shortage of parts has been less problematic. […] On risk factors, our main concern relates to the possibility of a peak in exports of general and electric machinery to Asia, which had enjoyed a rebound since Q2 2020 but softened in Q2 2021, with its level having already exceeded the pre-Covid peak (Q4 2019) by about 13%.”