Japan's industrial output fell a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent in October from the previous month, the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report Tuesday.

The headline reading was well above economists' expectations of a 3.4 percent decline, and marked the fifth straight month-on- month decline due to lower domestic demand for cars, said the report.

The index of output at factories and mines stood at 91.1 against the base of 100 for 2005, the ministry said. And the index of industrial shipments fell 2.7 percent to 92.6.

The index of industrial inventories was down 1.5 percent to 96. 1.

The ministry maintained its basic assessment of industrial production, saying that output has "weakened."

However, manufacturers polled by the ministry anticipate that output will rise 1.4 percent in November and 1.5 percent in December.