JAPAN DATA: Production by major Japanese makers in the domestic
market continued to improve last month, thanks to a quick recovery of
their production capacity and supply chains which were wrecked by the
March 11 disaster. Toyota Motor said its June domestic auto output fell
15.9% on year, with the pace of decline slowing from -54.4% in May.
Nissan Motor’s domestic output rose 1.9% on year in June, up from +0.8%
in May. Honda Motor’s output was down 50.6% in June, improving slightly
from – 53.4% in May. These figures are in line with economists’ forecast
that the June industrial output, which is due out on Friday, will show a
steady m/m gain.