Japan Jan factory output to drop for first time in 4 months: Reuters poll

According to the latest Reuters poll, Japan’s manufacturing sector activity is seen dropping for the first time in four months in January.

Key Findings:

“Industrial production likely slipped 4.2 percent in January from the previous month, the poll of 19 economists found, after growing 2.9 percent in December.

The trade ministry releases factory output data at 8:50 a.m. on Feb. 28, Wednesday Japan time (2350 GMT Tuesday).

Retail sales, which will be released at the same time with the factory output, are forecast to have grown 2.1 percent in January from a year earlier, slowing from 3.6 percent growth in December.

Tokyo area’s core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, likely rose 0.8 percent in February from a year ago, led by energy costs and up only marginally from 0.7 percent in January.

The internal affairs ministry will announce the core CPI for Tokyo and jobs data at 8:30 a.m. on March 2, Friday (2330 GMT on Thursday).”