Japan's industrial output, household spending drop
Published: Oct. 31, 2017 at 3:19 a.m. ET
TOKYO--Japanese industrial production fell in September, continuing its patchy performance this year, while household spending also slipped unexpectedly, government data showed Tuesday.
Falls in output of electronics and machinery weighed on the monthly production figures, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The decrease was slightly smaller than a 1.5% drop expected by economists surveyed by the Nikkei.
The September figure followed a 2.0% gain in August, weighing on the quarterly result, which showed a 0.4% increase from the previous three months.
Household spending data, released earlier in the morning, showed a surprise fall of 0.3%, compared with an expected gain of 0.7%.
The figures will feed into gross domestic product data scheduled for release on Nov. 15. The economy expanded 2.5% in the second quarter, extending Japan's growth streak to six quarters, its longest expansion since 2006.
Other figures release Tuesday showed continued firmness in the labor market with unemployment holding steady at 2.8%. The number of jobs available per 100 applicants also remained unchanged at 152.
METI stuck with its assessment of industrial output, saying that production was picking up.
According to a survey included in the report, manufacturers expect output to rise 4.7% in October and decrease 0.9% in November.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com