Japan factory output up 0.8% month-on-month in June: govt
Japan's factory output increased a greater-than-expected 0.8 percent month-on-month in June, reversing a drop in the previous month, official data showed on Thursday.
The reading from the industry ministry was better than the median forecast for an increase of 0.3 percent in a survey of economists carried out by Bloomberg News.
In May, industrial production fell 2.1 percent compared to April.
The industry ministry also said Thursday a survey of manufacturers' output projections showed expected growth by 0.5 percent in July and another 2.7 percent in August.
A sales tax hike last year hammered consumer spending and briefly sent the economy into recession, but Japan crept out of contraction in the last quarter of 2014.