Japanese industrial production on course for second quarter downturn

Having risen a buoyant 1.2% in April, some payback in May was always likely, but the 2.2% drop in Japan’s industrial production seen last month was far larger than consensus expectation of a 0.8% decline. The disappointing data call into question Japan’s ability to sustain its rebound from last year’s brief recession, corroborating the bout of renewed weakness seen in the country’s manufacturing PMI survey.