Japan’s economy narrowly avoids recession as growth figures revised
Al Jazeera
Gross domestic product grows 0.4 percent amid expectations of an end to negative interest rates as soon as this month.
Japan’s economy has narrowly avoided recession, underscoring the economic challenges facing the East Asian giant even as its stock market is cruising at its highest levels in decades.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew an annualised 0.4 percent between October and December, up from earlier provisional data that showed a 0.4 percent contraction, Japan’s Cabinet Office said on Monday.
On a quarterly basis, GDP expanded 0.1 percent, revised up from an estimated 0.1 percent decline.
Japan’s government last month announced provisional figures showing that the economy had unexpectedly slipped into recession amid sluggish domestic demand and private consumption.
While the revised figures mean that Japan escaped recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth – it continues to be the world’s fourth-largest economy after losing the number three spot to Germany.
