Tokyo  - Japanese industrial production rose for the sixth-straight month in August, up 1.8 per cent from the month before, the Trade Ministry said Wednesday.

The increase matched economists' predictions and compared with a 2.1-per-cent rise in July as the bigger outputs have been driven by worldwide government stimulus spending to combat the global economic downturn.

The biggest jumps were seen in the auto and steel industries.

The half-year of increases for the world's second-largest economy was the longest in 12 years, and the ministry said Japanese companies expected to continue increasing their production in the months ahead.

Limiting gains, however, was the strengthening yen, which makes Japanese goods more expensive abroad. (dpa)