Japan's industrial output in August down

Japan's industrial output in August declined a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on a monthly basis, a government data showed on Wednesday.

The index of output at factories and mines stood at 97.0 in the reporting period against the 2010 base of 100, Xinhua reported quoting the ministry of economy, trade and industry's report, adding that the index of industrial shipments declined 0.5 percent to 95.7, while that of inventories was up 0.4 percent to 114.1.

The much weaker than expected result prompted the government to lower its basic assessment of production, saying it has weakened.

It said the trend of output was fluctuating without clear direction in the previous month.

Looking ahead, manufacturers polled by the ministry said they expect output to rise 0.1 percent in September and by 4.4 percent in October.