2020.05.2900:46:00UTC+00Japan Industrial Output Sinks 9.1% In April

Industrial output in Japan skidded a seasonally adjusted 9.1 percent in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday.

That missed expectations for a decline of 5.1 percent following the 3.7 percent drop in March.

Ona yearly basis, industrial production tumbled 14.4 percent - also missing expectations for a fall of 7.7 percent after slipping 5.2 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI downgraded its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is declining rapidly.

Shipments were down 8.8 percent on month and 15.9 percent on year, while inventories eased 0.3 percent on month and added 2.7 percent on year. The inventory ratio spiked 12.7 percent on month and 28.1 percent on year.

According to the METI's forecast of industrial production, output is expected to fall 4.1 percent on month in May and then rise 3.9 percent in June.

Also on Friday: . The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said - beneath expectations for 2.7 percent but was up from 2.5 percent in March.

The jobs to applicant ratio fell to 1.32, missing forecasts for 1.33 and down from 1.39 in the previous month.

The number of employed persons in April was 66.28 million, a decrease of 800,000 from the previous year. The number of unemployed persons in April was 1.89 million, an increase of 130,000 from a year earlier.

. Overall consumer prices were up 0.4 percent on year in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said - exceeding expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent, which would have been unchanged from the April reading.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food costs, gained an annual 0.2 percent versus forecasts for a decline of 0.2 percent after easing 0.1 percent in the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, overall inflation was up 0.1 percent and core CPI rose 0.2 percent.

. The total value of retail sales in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 9.6 percent on month in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said - shy of expectations for a decline of 7.0 percent following the 4.5 percent drop in March.

On a yearly basis, retail sales tumbled 13.7 percent - also missing expectations for a drop of 11.5 percent after slipping 4.6 percent in the previous month.