Japan’s Q1 GDP revised up to 0.5% annualised contraction

JAPAN’S economy shrank an annualised 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, slightly better than the initial estimate of a 1.0 per cent contraction, revised government data showed on Wednesday, as consumption remained resilient in the face of resurgent Covid-19 infections. The revised figure for gross domestic product (GDP) released by the Cabinet Office compared with economists’ median forecast for a 1.0 per cent contraction in a Reuters poll. On a quarter-on-quarter basis GDP fell 0.1 per cent, compared with the initial minus 0.2 per cent reading and a median forecast for a 0.3 per cent drop. REUTERS