Japan’s economy expands 0.7% in fourth quarter as exports rise sharply; full-year growth slows

Japan’s economic expansion in the fourth quarter beat analysts’ expectations for quarter-on-quarter and annualized growth, boosted by a jump in exports, preliminary government data showed Monday.

GDP grew 0.7% quarter on quarter, more than the 0.3% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters. It had expanded by a revised 0.4% in the previous quarter.

A jump in exports growth compared with the prior quarter helped boost GDP, while domestic demand was a drag on growth, contracting marginally.

On an annualized basis, GDP grew 2.8%, exceeding Reuters estimate of 1%.

Japan’s economy grew 1.2% year on year in the fourth quarter, compared with the 0.6% rise in the third quarter.

Despite the better-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter, full-year GDP growth slowed to 0.1%, a sharp fall from the 1.5% growth seen in 2023.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.29% after the data release, while the yen strengthened 0.2% to trade at 152.02 against the dollar.”

The GDP data on Monday comes against the backdrop of Japan’s central bank raising rates to 0.5%, their highest level since October 2008, and offers it more room to stick with monetary tightening.

Japan’s household spending in December also supported the case for monetary tightening, rising 2.7% year-on-year in real terms, massively beating expectations from economists polled by Reuters and marking its first rise since July 2024.

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