"There have been signs of the economy bottoming out"
- Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute
Japan's industrial output rose in the first month of 2013, however, at a slower pace than a month ago, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday. Volume of output produced by Japanese manufacturers, mines, and utilities rose by 0.3% in January, down from 1% growth recorded a month earlier. Despite being worse-than-expected, it is a sign that the world's third-largest economy is stabilising due to new monetary policy supporting exports and other actions done by Shinzo Abe's government. In the meantime, on an annual basis the output tumbled by 5.8%. As exports constitute approximately 16% of the Japanese economy, cheaper Yen can boost the exports, which have been battling with a strong currency for years.
"There have been signs of the economy bottoming out," Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute. "It would not be surprising to see the decline in the coincident index coming to a halt in the near term."
"It's a good time to be BOJ governor because Kuroda can say Japan is making progress toward ending deflation when he adds more stimulus," said Miyamae of SMBC.
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