Japan industrial production rises in December, beats market expectations

Japan's December industrial production grew 0.5 percent, higher than the market expectations of 0.3 percent growth, down from 1.5 percent in November, reported Ministry of Economic, Trade and Industry.

The industries that had the largest increase in production in December 2016, were transport equipment, chemicals and components and electronic devices. Those that suffered the biggest setbacks were information and communication equipment and general-purpose machinery, reported daijiworld news.

Industrial production, which measures the pace of Japanese factories, is considered key to anticipating the pace of the economy of the country, which is highly dependent on the manufacturing sector, they added.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.71 percent lower at 19,038 while at 6:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Yen Strength Index remained highly bullish at 131.32 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex