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187578
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 18:42
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https://oananews.org//node/187578
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Japan's 1st qtr GDP slightly upgraded to minus 3.5%
TOKYO, June 9 Kyodo - Japan's economy shrank an annualized real 3.5 percent in the three months through March, the government said Thursday, slightly upgrading the preliminary figure of minus 3.7 percent, but key components like household and business spending remained weak after the earthquake and tsunami in March.
The second straight quarter of contraction, as measured by gross domestic product, corresponded to an unrevised 0.9 percent fall from the October-December period. In fiscal 2010 ended in March, GDP grew 2.3 percent from the previous year in real, or inflation-adjusted, terms, also left unrevised.
The immediate cause of the upgrading for the January-March data was an improvement in private sector investment in inventory, a possible sign of upturn in production, which significantly slowed due to supply-chain disruptions as a result of the March 11 disaster.
Economists said there was no surprise in the data. ''This revision did not offer us any additional information for the assessment of economy,'' Masamichi Adachi, a senior economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., wrote in his report, adding, ''We do not put much emphasis on the inventory data as the series is often revised significantly.''
A widespread view is that the Japanese economy has been showing signs of rebound, or at least signs of bottoming out, after the downturn due to the natural disaster, given the recent stream of positive readings such as production and business sentiment.
''We are comfortable with our view that the economy is now on a V-shaped recovery track,'' Adachi said.
But the momentum in the reporting quarter was not sufficiently strong. ''Private consumption and corporate capital spending remained under downward pressures due to the supply disruptions and deteriorating sentiment after the earthquake disaster,'' a government official told a press briefing.
Private consumption dropped 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, unchanged from the preliminary report released May 19. Capital spending shed 1.3 percent, larger than an earlier 0.9 percent slide.
Public investment fell 1.4 percent, downwardly revised from a 1.3 percent decline, while housing investment by the private sector rose an unrevised 0.7 percent.
External demand pushed GDP lower by 0.17 percentage point while domestic demand subtracted 0.7 point from the growth rate, respectively upgraded from minus 0.18 point and minus 0.8 point.
On a nominal basis, or unadjusted for inflation, GDP growth came to an annualized minus 5.1 percent, upgraded from minus 5.2 percent. This corresponded to an unrevised quarter-on-quarter fall of 1.3 percent.
The GDP deflator, a measure of inflation, fell an unchanged 0.4 percent, as the economy has been mired in chronic deflation.
GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically.
The second straight quarter of contraction, as measured by gross domestic product, corresponded to an unrevised 0.9 percent fall from the October-December period. In fiscal 2010 ended in March, GDP grew 2.3 percent from the previous year in real, or inflation-adjusted, terms, also left unrevised.
The immediate cause of the upgrading for the January-March data was an improvement in private sector investment in inventory, a possible sign of upturn in production, which significantly slowed due to supply-chain disruptions as a result of the March 11 disaster.
Economists said there was no surprise in the data. ''This revision did not offer us any additional information for the assessment of economy,'' Masamichi Adachi, a senior economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., wrote in his report, adding, ''We do not put much emphasis on the inventory data as the series is often revised significantly.''
A widespread view is that the Japanese economy has been showing signs of rebound, or at least signs of bottoming out, after the downturn due to the natural disaster, given the recent stream of positive readings such as production and business sentiment.
''We are comfortable with our view that the economy is now on a V-shaped recovery track,'' Adachi said.
But the momentum in the reporting quarter was not sufficiently strong. ''Private consumption and corporate capital spending remained under downward pressures due to the supply disruptions and deteriorating sentiment after the earthquake disaster,'' a government official told a press briefing.
Private consumption dropped 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, unchanged from the preliminary report released May 19. Capital spending shed 1.3 percent, larger than an earlier 0.9 percent slide.
Public investment fell 1.4 percent, downwardly revised from a 1.3 percent decline, while housing investment by the private sector rose an unrevised 0.7 percent.
External demand pushed GDP lower by 0.17 percentage point while domestic demand subtracted 0.7 point from the growth rate, respectively upgraded from minus 0.18 point and minus 0.8 point.
On a nominal basis, or unadjusted for inflation, GDP growth came to an annualized minus 5.1 percent, upgraded from minus 5.2 percent. This corresponded to an unrevised quarter-on-quarter fall of 1.3 percent.
The GDP deflator, a measure of inflation, fell an unchanged 0.4 percent, as the economy has been mired in chronic deflation.
GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically.
