By Kantaro Komiya
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s industrial output rose in October for the first time in four months, but the slower-than-expected pace underscored the lingering impact of global supply chain disruptions.
The data suggested Japan’s tepid recovery from the impact of the pandemic may last a while longer due to ongoing risks such as supply snags, global commodity inflation and a slowdown in Chinese economy.
Factory output grew 1.1% from the previous month in October, government data showed on Wednesday, marking the first increase since June. It compared with a 1.8% gain forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and followed a 5.4% decline in the previous month.
Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) expected output to jump 9.0% in November, followed by a 2.1% gain in December.
Separate data on Tuesday showed Japan’s jobless rate stood at 2.7% in October, down from the previous month, while an index gauging job availability fell to 1.15 from 1.16 in September.
After a contraction in July-September, the world’s third-largest economy is expected to rebound in the current quarter thanks to uptick in consumption partly due to the lifting of the pandemic-induced state of emergency curbs.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
