Japan's factory output up in Feb

This article is more than 12 months old

Apr 01, 2017 06:00 am

TOKYO: Japanese inflation and factory output picked up last month while the unemployment rate dipped to a two-decade low, official data showed yesterday.

The positive figures were tempered by weak household spending and little evidence that a tight labour market was leading to pay rises and driving up prices.

Japan's core consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh food, rose 0.2 per cent from a year earlier.

The latest inflation rate is way off the Bank of Japan's 2 per cent target, but it marked the second consecutive year-on-year rise.

February industrial production grew by a stronger-than-expected 2 per cent and the jobless rate fell to 2.8 per cent from 3 per cent the previous month, the lowest level since the mid-1990s. - AFP