ID :
111231
Fri, 03/12/2010 - 13:55
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https://www.oananews.org//node/111231
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Japan`s Oct.-Dec. economic growth revised down to annualized 3.8%
TOKYO, March 11 Kyodo -
Japan's economy expanded an annualized 3.8 percent in real terms in the
October-December quarter, slower than an initially reported 4.6 percent growth,
as private-sector capital investment turned out to have recovered less than
previously estimated, the government's revised figures showed Thursday.
The Cabinet Office said the annual growth of the nation's gross domestic
product corresponded to an expansion of a real 0.9 percent from the previous
quarter through September, revised down from a 1.1 percent rise initially
reported Feb. 15.
Despite the downward revision of GDP, or the total value of goods and services
produced domestically, analysts said the data confirmed an improvement in the
state of the Japanese economy on the back of a rebound in exports and the
government's stimulus measures.
The government is planning to upgrade its monthly assessment on the nation's
economy for the first time in eight months in a report due out on Monday, while
remaining vigilant over deflation concerns, government sources said.
Keisuke Tsumura, a parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office, said in a
press briefing on the data that the latest GDP figures suggested a diminished
possibility of Japan falling into a double-dip recession on pickups in domestic
demand.
''From now, the self-sustainable momentum in the economic recovery will be the
key to watch,'' he said.
Yoshiki Shinke, senior economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, said
Japan's economy got a strong boost from a recovery in exports, especially from
China and other emerging economies, and that a moderate economic recovery is
likely to continue this year.
''From now, the boost from government stimulus on private consumption is likely
to wane and public investment is also expected to fall,'' he said. ''Although
the pace of the GDP expansion may not be as fast as that seen in the last three
months of 2009, we expect that strong exports backed by a recovery in the
overseas economy can sustain the (Japanese) economic recovery.''
For the October-December period, capital investment rose 0.9 percent from the
previous quarter, instead of an initially reported 1.0 percent rise, as the
government office reexamined preliminary figures after incorporating newly
available data. It still marks the first expansion of capital expenditures in
seven quarters.
Private inventory pushed down the GDP by 0.1 percentage point, instead of the
initial estimate of the positive contribution of 0.1 point.
Among other key economic components, the revised data confirmed a rise of 0.7
percent in private consumption amid government stimulus measures, such as
incentives for the purchase of environmentally friendly cars and consumer
electronics.
Exports surged 5.0 percent, while imports gained 1.3 percent, both unchanged
from the previous report.
Without adjustment for price changes, the economy grew 0.1 percent in the
October-December period from the previous quarter, or an annualized 0.5
percent, against a 0.2 percent increase, or an annualized 0.9 percent gain, in
the preliminary report.
The latest revisions resulted in some changes in historical economic data.
The revised data showed GDP in the first 2009 quarter slumped an annualized
13.7 percent, worse than a previously estimated drop of 12.3 percent, making it
the quarter with the worst contraction since the government begun compiling
comparable data in 1955. Before the revision, the previous worst record was
held in the January-March quarter of 1974.
For the July-September quarter, the revised data showed a GDP contraction of
0.1 percent in real terms, a turnaround from an earlier reported expansion of
0.01 percent.
This means that Japan's economy grew in the October-December period for the
first time in two quarters, rather than the three consecutive quarters of
growth through December as earlier reported.
For the whole of 2009, GDP dropped 5.2 percent in real terms representing the
sharpest contraction in Japan's postwar history, the government said, revising
downward its earlier estimate of 5.0 percent.
==Kyodo
Japan's economy expanded an annualized 3.8 percent in real terms in the
October-December quarter, slower than an initially reported 4.6 percent growth,
as private-sector capital investment turned out to have recovered less than
previously estimated, the government's revised figures showed Thursday.
The Cabinet Office said the annual growth of the nation's gross domestic
product corresponded to an expansion of a real 0.9 percent from the previous
quarter through September, revised down from a 1.1 percent rise initially
reported Feb. 15.
Despite the downward revision of GDP, or the total value of goods and services
produced domestically, analysts said the data confirmed an improvement in the
state of the Japanese economy on the back of a rebound in exports and the
government's stimulus measures.
The government is planning to upgrade its monthly assessment on the nation's
economy for the first time in eight months in a report due out on Monday, while
remaining vigilant over deflation concerns, government sources said.
Keisuke Tsumura, a parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office, said in a
press briefing on the data that the latest GDP figures suggested a diminished
possibility of Japan falling into a double-dip recession on pickups in domestic
demand.
''From now, the self-sustainable momentum in the economic recovery will be the
key to watch,'' he said.
Yoshiki Shinke, senior economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, said
Japan's economy got a strong boost from a recovery in exports, especially from
China and other emerging economies, and that a moderate economic recovery is
likely to continue this year.
''From now, the boost from government stimulus on private consumption is likely
to wane and public investment is also expected to fall,'' he said. ''Although
the pace of the GDP expansion may not be as fast as that seen in the last three
months of 2009, we expect that strong exports backed by a recovery in the
overseas economy can sustain the (Japanese) economic recovery.''
For the October-December period, capital investment rose 0.9 percent from the
previous quarter, instead of an initially reported 1.0 percent rise, as the
government office reexamined preliminary figures after incorporating newly
available data. It still marks the first expansion of capital expenditures in
seven quarters.
Private inventory pushed down the GDP by 0.1 percentage point, instead of the
initial estimate of the positive contribution of 0.1 point.
Among other key economic components, the revised data confirmed a rise of 0.7
percent in private consumption amid government stimulus measures, such as
incentives for the purchase of environmentally friendly cars and consumer
electronics.
Exports surged 5.0 percent, while imports gained 1.3 percent, both unchanged
from the previous report.
Without adjustment for price changes, the economy grew 0.1 percent in the
October-December period from the previous quarter, or an annualized 0.5
percent, against a 0.2 percent increase, or an annualized 0.9 percent gain, in
the preliminary report.
The latest revisions resulted in some changes in historical economic data.
The revised data showed GDP in the first 2009 quarter slumped an annualized
13.7 percent, worse than a previously estimated drop of 12.3 percent, making it
the quarter with the worst contraction since the government begun compiling
comparable data in 1955. Before the revision, the previous worst record was
held in the January-March quarter of 1974.
For the July-September quarter, the revised data showed a GDP contraction of
0.1 percent in real terms, a turnaround from an earlier reported expansion of
0.01 percent.
This means that Japan's economy grew in the October-December period for the
first time in two quarters, rather than the three consecutive quarters of
growth through December as earlier reported.
For the whole of 2009, GDP dropped 5.2 percent in real terms representing the
sharpest contraction in Japan's postwar history, the government said, revising
downward its earlier estimate of 5.0 percent.
==Kyodo
