Japan exits recession on export growth
February 16, 2015
Official data has shown Japan's economy grew by 0.6 percent in the three months to December, indicating an annualized rate of 2.2 percent for the world's third largest economy.
The preliminary data released Monday in Tokyo reported flat growth for 2014 at 0.0 percent. The economy suffered two straight quarters of contraction following a sales tax hike in April last year.
External demand added 0.2 percent to growth in the quarter, a sign the weaker yen is finally having an effect. Exports increased at their fastest pace since early 2014.
Private consumption makes up about 60 percent of the economy. It rose 0.3 percent in the final quarter of 2014. This was less than a median market forecast for a 0.7 percent increase.
Business investment also grew fractionally in the quarter to December, Monday's report from the Cabinet Office showed.
While positive, the growth figures fell short of the 3.7 percent annualized growth forecast in a Reuters poll. It suggests a fragile recovery, in light of soft consumer demand and uneven global growth affecting exports, despite a two-year stimulus campaign initiated by the government headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Abe has promoted pro-growth policies known as Abenomics with the Bank of Japan (photo) creating money on a vast scale by buying government bonds and other assets.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stocks Exchange rose 114.09 points to 18,027.45 at the start of Monday trading.
jm/bw (Reuters, AP, AFP)