Japan Industrial Output Rebounds in Sign of Further Recovery

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's industrial production rebounded in June, as global demand continued to support the nation's economic recovery.

Key Takeaways

A pick-up in global demand and a weak yen have helped Japanese exporters, lifting the nation's economy to the longest run of expansion in a decade. Reports last week showed that household spending rose in June for the first time in more than a year, while retail sales gained for an eighth month, signaling that both output and consumption were reasonably healthy in the second quarter. Still, stronger gains in wages and inflation are needed to put the economic recovery onto a firmer footing.

Economist Views

• “Demand for information technology investment and a recovery in global capital investment are supporting production in Japan," said Masaki Kuwahara, senior economist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo. "The economy itself is stronger than I had expected."
• "Production will likely remain strong throughout the summer,” Kuwahara said.
• "The upshot is that the economy is on track for the seventh consecutive quarter of growth, which would be the longest expansion in two decades," Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics, said in a note after the results were released.

--With assistance from Yoshiaki Nohara

To contact the reporter on this story: Keiko Ujikane in Tokyo at kujikane@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net, Henry Hoenig