Japan’s industrial output for June may recover from pandemic slump, Reuters poll

Japan’s industrial output is expected to recover in June from a double-digit decline in May amid hopes that factory activity may have reached its lowest due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Reuters’ poll of 13 economists.

While the significantly small uptick in factory data may not necessarily indicate a full economic recovery ahead, the unemployment rate is expected to rebound from decades-low levels.

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) data that is expected to be released on July 31 at, 0850 JST (July 30, 2350 GMT) may show June’s factory output growing above 1.2% month-on-month, forecasting a rebound from a 8.9% decline in May as the pandemic disrupted supply chains and factory operations.

Separate government data due on July 31, 0830 JST (July 30, 2330 GMT) may see the unemployment rate rising to 2.9% in July to 3.1% in June, according to the poll.

However, the jobs-to-applicants ratio may have worsened to 1.16 in June, from the 1.2 seen in May.