Japan's factory output shrank for the first time in three months in December as a decline in machinery outweighed a small rise in car production, casting a cloud over the strength of the economic recovery.
Retail sales posted their third straight month of year-on-year gains in December as low COVID-19 cases encouraged shoppers, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday. Record infections this month driven by the omicron variant, however, are expected to have hit consumer sentiment.
Factory production lost 1.0% in December from the previous month, pulled down by a decline in output of general-purpose and production machinery, including chip-making equipment.