Saturday, January 31, 2009

Chart of the Week: Industrial Production in Japan

With all the hoopla over a 3.8% drop in Q4 GDP in the United States and a 2.0% decline in industrial production reported two weeks ago, this seems like a good time to remind my largely Americentric audience that things are much worse overseas, particularly in Asia.

During the week Japan reported that December industrial production fell 9.6% and South Korea reported a December decline of 18.6%. These are staggering numbers, whether one chooses to compare them to U.S. data or to historical data sets.

In this week’s chart of the week, I have elected to compare Japanese industrial production data from December 2003 to December 2008, partly because I like the look of the Japanese characters and partly because it illustrates just how dramatically Japan’s export economy declined during the last three months of 2008.

Rapidly declining industrial production may well be Asia’s next major export to the U.S.

[source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry - Japan]

0 comments:

DISCLAIMER: "VIX®" is a trademark of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated. Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated is not affiliated with this website or this website's owner's or operators. CBOE assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness or any other aspect of any content posted on this website by its operator or any third party. All content on this site is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as advice to buy or sell any securities. Stocks are difficult to trade; options are even harder. When it comes to VIX derivatives, don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because you can ride a horse, you can ride an alligator. Please do your own homework and accept full responsibility for any investment decisions you make. No content on this site can be used for commercial purposes without the prior written permission of the author. Copyright © 2007-2023 Bill Luby. All rights reserved.
 
Web Analytics