TOKYO :Japan's economy narrowly averted a recession at the end of last year, barely growing in the fourth quarter on frail consumption, revised data showed on Thursday, underscoring the challenge for policymakers trying to shore up a stuttering recovery.
Gross domestic product in the world's third-biggest economy expanded by an annualised 0.1 per cent in October-December, against a preliminary estimate of a 0.6 per cent expansion and much lower than economists' median forecast for a 0.8 per cent rise in a Reuters poll. That followed a 0.8 per cent contraction in July-September.
Private consumption, which makes up more than half of the country's GDP, grew 0.3 per cent, the data showed, downgraded from an initial estimate of a 0.5 per cent increase. Domestic demand as a whole knocked 0.3 per centage point from revised GDP growth, slightly more than initially estimated, while net exports added 0.4 per centage point.