Japan's industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in April from the previous month, as manufacturers scaled back on output they had boosted ahead of the sales tax hike on April 1, government data showed Friday.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry downgraded its basic assessment of production for the first time since September 2012, saying it “appears to be flat.”
The index of output at factories and mines stood at 99.6 against the base of 100 in 2010, the ministry said in a preliminary report.
By sector, output by transport equipment makers, including auto manufacturers, dropped 3.5 percent, while that by electronic parts and devices makers decreased 5.2 percent, according to the report.
The index of industrial shipments lost 5.0 percent to 98.0 while that of inventories was down 0.5 percent at 105.2.
