Japan's factories running harder
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan's industrial production rose 3.0 percent in September from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) shows.
The result, released Wednesday, was better than the median forecast of a 1.5 percent rise in a Reuters survey of 25 economists last week.
METI forecast manufacturers' output -- a key component and close proxy of industrial production -- would rise 2.8 percent in October and gain 2.5 percent in November.
The ministry raised its assessment of industrial output, saying it saw signs of recovery but that movements needed to be closely monitored as final demand remained unclear. For the August data, it had said output was on a flattening trend.
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