Japan’s economy has contracted for a second straight quarter in the face of wilting domestic demand, adding to pressure on the Bank of Japan as it considers raising interest rates for the first time since 2007.
Weak private consumption pushed Japan’s gross domestic product to shrink by 0.4 per cent on an annualised basis in the fourth quarter, and by 0.1 per cent on a quarterly basis, according to preliminary data released by Japan’s Cabinet Office on Thursday.
The fall was at odds with economists’ estimates of a slight rise of between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent, and pushed some investors to revise bets on when the BoJ will begin to unwind its ultra-loose monetary policy, including the world’s last remaining negative interest rates.
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