Shadow of Q3 slowdown looms over Japan

Tokyo

WITH the release of a series of soft Japanese economic data on Friday, concerns re-emerged that the world's third largest economy might have suffered a contraction in the second quarter, although growth is expected to pick up again in the third quarter as wage rises are set to boost consumption

Household spending dropped unexpectedly by 2 per cent in June from a year ago, while consumer price inflation remained virtually static; unemployment rose in June to 3.4 per cent from 3.3 per cent in May.