2018.03.2920:44:00UTC+00Japan Industrial Output Climbs 4.1% In February

Industrial production in Japan advanced a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent on month in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Friday's preliminary reading.

That missed forecasts for a gain of 5.0 percent following the 6.8 percent drop in January.

On a yearly basis, industrial production added 1.4 percent - again missing forecasts for 2.3 percent and down from 2.5 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production saying that it is picking up slowly.

Industries that strengthened in February included transport equipment, business-oriented machinery and electronic parts and devices.

Petroleum and coal products were down, along with textiles and ceramics.

Shipments were up 2.2 percent on month and 0.6percent on year.

Industries that were up included transport equipment, iron and steel and electronic parts - while business-oriented machinery was down.

Inventories added 0.9 percent on month and 1.6 percent on year.

Industries in expansion included iron and steel, transport equipment and non-ferrous metals. Industries that were down included petroleum and coal products, communications electronics equipment and paper products.

According to the survey of production forecast, industrial output is expected rise 0.9 percent in March and 5.2 percent in April.

Industries expected to contribute to the increase in March include business-oriented machinery, chemicals and fabricated metals.

Industries that are expected to contribute to the increase in April include business-oriented machinery, transport equipment and electronic parts.

Also on Friday: . The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That was beneath estimates for 2.6 percent but up from 2.4 percent in January.

The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.58 - also missing forecasts for 1.60 and down from 1.59 in the previous month. The participation rate was 60.8 percent. . Consumer prices in the Tokyo region were up 1.0 percent on year in March, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That was shy of expectations for 1.3 percent and down from 1.4 percent in February.

Core CPI, which excludes fresh food prices, was up 0.8 percent on year. That also missed expectations for 0.9 percent, which would have been unchanged.

On a monthly basis, overall inflation fell 0.5 percent and core CPI dipped 0.2 percent.