The nation's industrial output in January rose 2.9 percent from the previous month, marking the second consecutive monthly increase, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report released Friday.
MITI, however, said the nation's production activities remain weak amid stagnant domestic demand, pointing out that the rise during the past two months is not enough to cover a 5 percent drop in November.
The production index for mines and factories, which is compared against 100 in the 1990 base year, came to a seasonally adjusted 101.8, down 3.3 percent from a year before. The shipment index posted a monthly increase of 3.1 percent to 103.6, while the inventory index edged down 0.2 percent to 112.5, the report says.
The stock-to-sales ratio was down 1.4 percent to 120.9. The ministry now expects a sizable drop of 2.5 percent for the February production index, revising downward its earlier prediction of a 1.7 percent decrease.