In February, Japan's seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 0.4 percent as compared to the previous month, showing an increase for the fourth month in a row. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the country's industrial production in February witnessed an increase of 2.8 percent. The impact of the major earthquake that hit Japan on March 11 is expected to be seen in the March results.
In February, seasonally adjusted iron and steel production in Japan rose by 3.5 percent, while producers' iron and steel shipments declined by 1.7 percent and iron and steel inventories were up 3.2 percent, all compared to the previous month.