Japan Q3 GDP growth hits annualised 2.2% on exports, beats expectations

[TOKYO] Japan's economic growth beat expectations in the July-September period, helped by stronger exports to expand for a third straight quarter, but weak domestic activity cast doubt on hopes for a sustainable economic recovery.

Government data issued on Monday underscored a potentially fragile export-reliant economic recovery just as Republican Donald Trump's shock victory in the US presidential election added to uncertainty over the global economic outlook.

The economy expanded by an annualised 2.2 per cent in the third quarter, faster than the 0.9 per cent increase markets had expected, following a 0.7 per cent increase in April-June, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday.

It marked the third straight quarter of expansion.

The preliminary reading for gross domestic product (GDP) translated into a quarterly expansion of 0.5 per cent in the third quarter, versus a 0.2 per cent gain expected by economists.

Private consumption, which accounts for roughly 60 per cent of GDP, rose 0.1 per cent, unchanged from the second quarter, a sign the effects of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stimulus drive dubbed Abenomics have yet to spread to households due to tame wages.

Capital expenditure, a key component of GDP, was flat, following a 0.1 per cent decline in the second quarter, with worries about the global outlook and renewed yen gains weighing on business investment.

External demand - or exports minus imports - added 0.5 percentage point to GDP, due to a bounce in exports from the prior quarter, and falling imports caused by yen gains, oil price declines and weak domestic demand.

It marked the biggest contribution since April-June 2014.

REUTERS