Tokyo (Reuters) – – The Japanese economy contracted for the first time in a year in the first quarter, show government data published on Friday, stressing the fragility of the recovery, now threatened by the policy of American president Donald Trump in terms of trade.
These data highlight the challenges that Japan – whose economy depends largely on exports, particularly in the automotive sector – is faced, while customs duties decided by Donald Trump weigh on prospects.
The Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.7% over a year over the January -March period, a pace greater than expectations while the consensus was -0.2%.
In quarterly pace, the Japanese economy contracted by 0.2%, while the market awaited a drop of 0.1%.
Private consumption, which represents more than half of Japanese economic production, remained stable in the first quarter, while the market awaited growth of 0.1%.
Investment expenditure increased by 1.4% over the January-March period, against a consensus of +0.8%.
(Leika Kihara; Camille Raynaud)
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