The Wall Street Journal reports:
Japanese industrial production rose 2.2% in April from March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said, suggesting the nation's economy might be coming out of a soft patch.
The increase matched the forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and Nikkei and was the first rise in three months, following a 0.2% fall in March and a 2.3% decrease in February.
The government, however, remains cautious:
Still, the ministry kept its assessment of output unchanged for the eighth-straight month, saying that "the trend for production remains flat."
The unchanged assessment was partly because of manufacturers' mixed outlook for the months ahead. Japanese manufacturers now forecast that they will decrease output by 2.3% in May before increasing it by 1.4% in June, a survey by the ministry showed.
"Judging from what we heard from companies, overall, output was relatively firm in April," said a ministry official who briefed reporters on the data. Taking into account the forecasts for May and June, however, "the overall trend [in output] hasn't changed," he said.
Prudent words, no doubt, but there was also some good news from the labor market:
Japan's jobless rate dropped to its lowest level in more than six years in April and the number of new jobs offered compared with the number of job-seekers also climbed, government data showed...
The jobless rate slipped to 4.4% in April from 4.5% in March, marking the lowest level since December 1998, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The reading was better than a 4.5% rate expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
Meanwhile, other data showed that 94 jobs were being offered for every 100 workers seeking employment in April, representing the highest demand among employers for workers since November 1992, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. In March, the figure was 91 jobs offered for every 100 job-seekers.
Overall, the incoming news has Japanese officials feeling a bit more comfortable:
Japan's finance minister, Sadakazu Tanigaki, said Japan is on a steady recovery path, although it still faces some threats to its growth such as high crude-oil prices. "Overall, the economy remains in a firm recovery," Mr. Tanigaki said at a regular news conference.
Here's hoping.