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Japan GDP suffers steepest decline in 5 months
Nikkei staff writersMarch 13, 2023 17:43 JSTTOKYO -- Japan's gross domestic product in January shrank a seasonably adjusted 0.6% from the previous month, declining for a second month in a row and marking its steepest descent since August, the Japan Center for Economic Research said on Monday.
The Tokyo-based think tank also estimated that if the trend holds through this month, Asia's second-largest economy for the first quarter of this year will contract by an annualized 3.4% from the final three months of 2022.
The January tumble was led by sluggish corporate capital investments, declining public capital investments and falling exports.
Corporate capital investments dropped 1.7%, according to the JCER, partially owing to a 5.9% fall in January shipments of capital goods, a component in the industrial production index.
Public capital investments dipped 0.7%, the JCER said, due to fewer public works being ordered by December.
The JCER, however, said leading indicators for corporate sector capital investments in January grew 1.6% and those for public sector investments gained 0.9%.
Goods and services exports fell 1.4%, mainly due to a 2.9% decline in goods exports. Shipments to China fell 9.3%, those to the U.S. contracted by 4.5% and those to the European Union slipped by 1.9%.
"Capital goods and automotive-related exports have been weak amid weak global activity in the IT and other manufacturing sectors," the JCER said, adding that the services exports picture will brighten as more foreign tourists return to Japan.
Private household consumption grew 0.4%, supported by a recovery in tourism-related sectors, the JCER said. The think tank added that private housing investment expanded by 0.6%, its first expansion in four months.
Japan GDP suffers steepest decline in 5 months, 0.6%, JCER says
2nd straight monthly contraction led by weak corporate investments and exports
asia.nikkei.com