Industrial output rose for the third straight month in May as companies rebuilt inventories and the economy started to climb out of its deepest postwar recession, the government said Monday.
Production increased 5.9 percent from a month earlier, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said, matching a gain in April that was the fastest since 1953. A survey of economists predicted a 7 percent increase, and factories were still producing 29.5 percent less than in May last year.
Manufacturers forecast that output will advance in June and July, albeit at a slower pace, and economists expect the Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey this week to show that sentiment among large manufacturers rebounded from a record low. The figures provide the latest evidence that the world recession is moderating as central banks flood their economies with cash and governments spend $2.2 trillion to prop up demand.