Japan’s GDP rebounds in Q4
Growth expanded by 1.4% compared to a year ago, driven by higher capital expenditure spending and private consumption.
Japan’s economy expanded by 1.4% on a year-on-year basis for the fourth quarter, matching economists’ expectations, government data revealed on Thursday.
The growth in the last quarter of 2018 reverses from a 2.6% contraction in the third quarter which was affected by natural disasters that temporarily stalled factory production.
Compared to the previous quarter, Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.3%, below expectations of a 0.4% gain. The third quarter had contracted by 0.7%.
For the fourth quarter, real exports rose by 0.9% from the previous quarter, the fastest increase seen in a year.
Experts are still concerned with the impact on exports caused by the trade conflict between the United States and China. They are expecting growth this year to slacken from the previous two years.
For the fourth quarter, private consumption, which makes up around 60% of GDP, rose by 0.6% for the fourth quarter, following a 0.2% fall in the previous quarter. Economists had expected a 0.8% increase for the last quarter of the year.
Capital expenditure rose by 2.4%, compared with a 2.7% contraction in the previous quarter.
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