Japan’s economy contracts, but at smaller rate than thought
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TOKYO — The Japanese economy contracted in the first quarter, but at a slower pace than earlier estimated, the government said Wednesday.
The world’s third-largest economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.5%, according to Cabinet Office data. That was smaller than the 1.0% contraction in the preliminary estimate for Japan’s real gross domestic product, or GDP, released in May.
The annual rate shows how the economy would have grown if the quarterly rate were to continue for a year. Japan’s economy contracted 0.1% in January-March from the previous quarter, better than the 0.2% quarter-on-quarter contraction in the preliminary data.
Consumer spending and other private demand was stronger than previously thought.
The upward revision was a pleasant surprise for analysts.
“Looking ahead, we expect GDP to rebound in 2Q mainly due to better private consumption, yet higher inflation on commodities…
