Industrial Production Index Rises 3.1% In Dec

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that the industrial production index rose a seasonally adjusted 3.1% from the previous month to 94.6 (2005=100) in December. The increase was larger than the expected 2.9% expansion. For the 12-month period through December, the index rose 15.9% from a year earlier, marking the first rise in three years.