Stocks in Tokyo inched up Friday bolstered by higher-than-expected industrial production in January, according to dpa. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 24.07 points, or 0.24 per cent, to close at 10,126.03, while the broader Topix index was up 2.69 points, or 0.3 per cent, to end the day at 894.10. For the week, the Nikkei was up 0.02 per cent and the Topix was up 0.56 per cent. Japanese industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 2.5 per cent in January from the previous month, the 11th straight monthly increase, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report. Meanwhile, Japan's key consumer price index (CPI) fell 1.3 per cent in January from a year earlier to the lowest in nearly 17 years, also making it the 11th consecutive month of decline, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 89.30-34 yen, flat from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 89.28-29 yen. The euro traded at 1.3593-3596 dollars, up from 1.3480-3482 dollars Thursday, and at 121.38-42 yen, up from 120.35-39 yen.
