Japan’s Industrial Output Beats Estimates, Retail Sales Rise

Japan’s industrial production rose more than economists forecast while retail sales eked out a first time gain in three months. The indicators add a mixed signal ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision later Friday, after weakness in data on consumer prices and household spending.

The reports come as investors await an announcement from the central bank on whether it will further expand monetary stimulus, and after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a fiscal package for more than 28 trillion yen ($267 billion). A report earlier in the day showed the BOJ’s key gauge of consumer prices declined for a fourth month in June, underscoring how far Japan is from the BOJ’s 2 percent inflation goal.