Japan Production Rises Most Since May, Retail Sales Rebound

Japanese manufacturers increased production at the fastest pace since May and retail sales snapped a 16-month slump, signaling the recovery is intact even as the government calls for more action to fight deflation.

Factory output rose 2.5 percent in January from a month earlier, the 11th straight gain and the longest streak in more than 12 years, the Trade Ministry said today in Tokyo. Retail sales unexpectedly jumped 2.6 percent from a year earlier.

A key gauge of consumer prices slid for an 11th month, prompting Finance Minister Naoto Kan to repeat a request for the Bank of Japan to “find various ways” to end deflation.

Bloomberg

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza