Japan's economic data are fully ahead of expectations, and Japan's Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates Wen

as at 31 august, japan ' s industrial output had increased by 0.1 per cent compared to the projected 0.7 per cent in july, while the retail sales ring had increased by 2.4 per cent, or 4 per cent over the same period, and was significantly higher than expected. the manufacturer projected a 6.4 per cent increase in industrial output in august and a 4.2 per cent decline in september. the higher-than-anticipated level of industrial output data mitigates some of the short-term downside risks to which the market is valued for japan ' s economic growth prospects. retail sales rebounded significantly in terms of both ring and year-on-year, indicating that consumer spending performed better than suggested by the decline in june. this is important for the sustainability of domestic demand as a driving force for inflation that is being discussed by the jcb. manufacturers' surveys indicate that industrial output is expected to grow strongly by 6.4 per cent in august, but that there will be a sharp fall in september, suggesting that the current strong performance may be partly due to early production or a previous rebound, rather than a real acceleration of the industrial cycle. according to us treasury, economic growth and consumption performance are resilient, in combination with us treasury secretary besent’s recent statement that the pace of interest rate hikes would in fact be left to the decision of japan’s central bank’s governor to grow fields and men, further undermining the reasons for the bank’s suspension of further tightening. kim xian