GDP Data Shows Japan’s Economic Growth Slowing
Japan’s economic growth slowed in the three months to September as the country struggled to hold on to a recovery from its worst postwar slump, government data showed today.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the output of goods and services in the economy, grew a real 0.2% in the July-September quarter from the previous quarter, the Economic Planning Agency said.
That translated into 1.0% annualized growth.
“The overall figures are no surprise,” said Yasushi Okada, chief economist, economic research, at Credit Suisse First Boston.
“But if exports continue to fall with the slowdown in the U.S. and Europe, GDP could fall quite drastically next time.”
The world’s second-biggest economy is struggling to emerge from its worst slowdown in half a century, posting three straight quarters of growth after a technical relapse into recession in the second half of last year.
But a corporate-sector recovery hasn’t revived consumer spending, which comprises some 60% of GDP, and exports have shown signs of flagging.
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