Japanese gross domestic product grew an annualized 12.7% from the prior quarter in the three months through December, the Cabinet Office reported Monday. The result was better than 22 of 24 forecasts from surveyed economists and defied a winter surge of the coronavirus.
More spending by firms, after six months of pullback, suggests corporate Japan now sees better prospects ahead once the country ends a state of emergency that is forecast to drive the economy back into a bruising contraction this quarter. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 1.1%, briefly climbing above 30,000 for the first time since 1990, following the growth report and as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirmed Japan’s vaccine drive will start Wednesday.“We expect the latest state of emergency to be fully lifted on March 7, given the recent downward trend in new infections. The first delivery of vaccines this week is an encouraging sign of progress in the fight against Covid-19.
“The GDP shows the economy can recover if the virus doesn’t disrupt things,” said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. “The pandemic didn’t break supply chains or production capacities like an earthquake and many households are ready to spend given the low unemployment rate.”
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