JSCh
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2011
- Messages
- 13,235
- Reaction score
- 2
- Country
- Location
Japan's GDP marks sharpest drop since 2011
Aug. 13, 2014 - Updated 02:33 UTC
Japan's economy shrank sharply in the April-June quarter. It contracted the most since the March 2011 earthquake due to a drop in consumption.
The Cabinet Office released preliminary gross domestic product data for the second quarter on Wednesday.
GDP fell an annualized 6.8 percent in real terms. That's the most since the 6.9 percent drop during January-March 2011.
On a quarterly basis, it contracted 1.7 percent. That's the first decline in 2 quarters.
Consumer spending dropped 5 percent. Demand for automobiles and home appliances fell sharply after the consumption tax was raised from 5 to 8 percent in April.
Corporate investment marked a 2.5 percent drop. Many companies tightened their budgets after upgrading their computer systems. The move came before Microsoft ended its support for the Windows XP operating system in April.
External demand boosted GDP by 1.1 percent as imports fell after the consumption tax increase.
Aug. 13, 2014 - Updated 02:33 UTC
Japan's economy shrank sharply in the April-June quarter. It contracted the most since the March 2011 earthquake due to a drop in consumption.
The Cabinet Office released preliminary gross domestic product data for the second quarter on Wednesday.
GDP fell an annualized 6.8 percent in real terms. That's the most since the 6.9 percent drop during January-March 2011.
On a quarterly basis, it contracted 1.7 percent. That's the first decline in 2 quarters.
Consumer spending dropped 5 percent. Demand for automobiles and home appliances fell sharply after the consumption tax was raised from 5 to 8 percent in April.
Corporate investment marked a 2.5 percent drop. Many companies tightened their budgets after upgrading their computer systems. The move came before Microsoft ended its support for the Windows XP operating system in April.
External demand boosted GDP by 1.1 percent as imports fell after the consumption tax increase.