Japan economy expected to shrink in Q1 due to weak consumption

TOKYO - Japan's economy likely contracted an annualised 1.5% in the January-March quarter as all key drivers of growth slumped due to an uncertain outlook, a Reuters poll showed, which will probably set back Bank of Japan efforts to raise interest rates.

"The trend of thrifty consumers remains strong due to rising living costs likely being exacerbated by the yen weakening," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute, who predicted the overall economy would contract at 1.2% annualised in the January-March period. External demand, or net exports, which means shipments minus imports, likely shaved 0.3 percentage points off GDP growth. Domestic demand probably fell for a fourth straight quarter.

Finance Finance Latest News, Finance Finance Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Asia markets look to rebound after Tuesday's broad sell-off; Japan and Singapore data expectedJapan and Singapore will release trade numbers for March, while the Reuters Tankan index showed that business optimism weakened among large Japanese firms.
Source: NBCNewYork - 🏆 270. / 63 Read more »

Asia markets rebound after Tuesday's broad sell-off; Japan and Singapore data expectedJapan and Singapore will release trade numbers for March, while the Reuters Tankan index showed that business optimism weakened among large Japanese firms.
Source: NBCPhiladelphia - 🏆 569. / 51 Read more »