Shrinking a little less than forecast

Japan's economy contracted by an annualized 6.8% in the April-July quarter, data out Wednesday showed, slowing after the nation's second-ever increase to its consumption tax the start of the period. 

The result was down 1.7% from the previous quarter, slightly better than a consensus forecast for a drop of 1.9% in gross domestic product, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of economists. In January-March, the economy had jumped by an annualized 6.7%, or 1.5% on a quarterly basis, revised data showed, due in large part to the front-loading of purchases and other activity ahead of the tax hike. 

Among other details in the report, private consumption swung to a 5% fall during the three months, after growing 2% in the first quarter. Capital investment excluding real estate fell 2.5% during the quarter, after rising 7.7% during the January-March period. The markets showed little reaction to the data, in part due to the backward-looking nature of the numbers. Singapore-listed Nikkei Average JP:NIK +0.07% futures held on to a 0.3% loss, while the dollar USDJPY +0.01% eased to ¥102.28 from ¥102.30 seconds ahead of the release.

Source: marketwatch.com