The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Japan advanced by 0.3% in the second quarter of the year, two tenths less than in the previous three months, while annual growth cooled by eight tenths, down to 1.1%, weighed down by the decline in domestic demand and investment, according to data released this Monday by the Cabinet Office of the Government.
The new figures for the Japanese economy fall below the forecasts for the April-June period, which pointed to an increase of 2% in annual rate and 0.5% in the quarterly figure.
In this second quarter, private consumption in Japan remained practically unchanged compared to the previous quarter, after household spending fell by 0.1%. At the same time, private investment decreased by 0.5%, compared to the increase of 0.9% recorded between January and March, while capital investment plummeted by 1.2%, deepening by two tenths the contraction already observed in the first quarter.
On the other hand, public investment decreased by 0.1% in quarterly comparison, reversing the advance of 1.5% recorded in the previous three months. In contrast, external demand closed the quarter with an increase of 0.5%, two tenths above the figure from the first quarter.
In year-on-year terms, the Japanese GDP recorded in the second quarter a growth of 1.1%, below the rebound of 1.9% recorded in the previous quarter, in a context of a contraction of 0.7% in domestic demand.
Private demand barely advanced by 0.1% compared to a year earlier, with a decrease of 0.3% in household consumption, while public demand decreased by 3.2% despite the strong increase in government spending by 6.7%.