Japan avoids recession after quarterly economic growth data is revised up
CNN
Japan’s economy expanded at an annualized clip of 0.4% in October to December from the previous quarter, better than the initial estimate for a 0.4% contraction, government data showed on Monday.
Japan’s economy expanded at an annualized clip of 0.4% in October to December from the previous quarter, better than the initial estimate for a 0.4% contraction, government data showed on Monday. The revised figure for gross domestic product (GDP) released by the Cabinet Office compared with economists’ median forecast for a 1.1% uptick in a Reuters poll. The fresh data meant Japan’s economy, now the world’s fourth-largest behind Germany, avoided a technical recession thanks to companies’ stronger-than-expected spending on plants and equipments. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP grew 0.1%, compared with the initial 0.1.% drop reading and a median forecast for a 0.3% rise. Capital expenditure increased 2.0% quarter-on-quarter, better than the preliminary 0.1% decrease the government announced, but below a median market forecast of a 2.5% rise. The upward revision came amid growing market expectations that the Bank of Japan could ditch negative interest rates as early as this month, fueled in part by board members’ recent hawkish comments that Japan was moving towards the central bank’s 2% inflation target.