Economists Project Steeper Fall in Japan July-Sept. GDP

Tokyo, Dec. 2 (Jiji Press)–Private-sector economists forecast that the Japanese government will revise down its gross domestic product data for July-September. The revised data, scheduled for release next Monday, is expected to show that the country’s real GDP fell 0.5 pct from the previous quarter, or 2.1 pct on an annualized basis, against a fall of 0.4 pct, or 1.8 pct, in the preliminary data, according to 10 private think tanks. Growth in corporate capital expenditures is projected to be slashed to 0.3 pct from 1.0 pct, reflecting the results of a recent corporate survey by the Finance Ministry. Public investment is expected to show a decrease of 0.3 pct, against a 0.1 pct increase in the preliminary data. For October-December, the Japanese economy is increasingly expected to return to growth. Still, Yoshiki Shinke, a senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Inc., said that the economy is likely to rebound “only moderately, due to downward impact from exports.” The revised data will follow a once-in-five-year criteria change, which is expected to push down nominal GDP. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]