1st LD Writethru: Japan's GDP grows annualized 2.2 pct in Q4
Xinhua, February 16, 2015 Adjust font size:
Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2014 grew an annualized real 2.2 percent, marking the first rise in three quarters but still worse than expected, government data showed on Monday.
The growth in the three-month period, following a revised 2.3 percent contraction in the previous quarter, was significantly weaker than the 3.86 percent expansion forecast by economists, suggesting the world's third largest economy still faces hurdles to recover after the consumption tax hike from April last year.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP increased by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter.
By sectors, private consumption, accounting for around 60 percent of Japan's GDP, rose a real 0.3 percent, supported by sales of mobile phones and personal computers, an official of the Cabinet Office said.
Corporate capital spending, which the government sees as key to shoring up the economy, gained 0.1 percent following a 0.1 percent decrease in the July-September period.
Housing investment was down 1.2 percent after plunging 7.0 percent in the previous quarter, while exports gained 2.7 percent.
In 2014, Japan's GDP grew 0.04 percent. Endi