Commercial and residential buildings at dusk in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Japan’s economic expansion in the fourth quarter beat analysts’ expectations for quarter-on-quarter and annualized growth, preliminary government data showed Monday.
GDP grew 0.7% quarter on quarter, more than the 0.3% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters. It had expanded by a revised 0.4% in the previous quarter.
On an annualized basis, GDP grew 2.8%, exceeding the Reuters estimate of 1%.
Japan’s economy grew 1.2% year on year in the fourth quarter, compared with the 0.6% rise in the third quarter.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.29% after the data release, while the yen strengthened 0.2% to trade at 152.02 against the dollar.”
The GDP data on Monday comes against the backdrop of Japan’s central bank raising rates to 0.5%, their highest level since October 2008, and offers it more room to stick with monetary tightening.
Japan’s household spending in December also supported the case for monetary tightening, rising 2.7% year-on-year in real terms, massively beating expectations from economists polled by Reuters and marking its first rise since July 2024.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
