Japan economic growth slows in quarter

Tokyo Price Index, August 12, 2013. Screengrab from https://www.tse.or.jp/english/

TOKYO – Japan’s economic growth slowed in the April-June quarter, official data showed Monday, raising questions about whether Tokyo’s bid to stoke growth was taking hold and if it would launch a series of tax hikes.

The Cabinet office said the world’s third-largest economy expanded by 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, slower than a revised 0.9 percent increase between January and March.

The latest figures missed analyst expectations of 0.9 percent growth in the quarter.

The pace of expansion also slowed on an annualized basis with a 2.6 percent increase, from a revised 3.8 percent in the first quarter. Annualized data show how the economy would grow if the quarterly performance was stretched across the full year.

A weaker yen and rising domestic demand helped to more than double profits at major Japanese firms in the April-June quarter, according to SMBC Nikko Securities.

The broader impact of an economy-boosting plan launched by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however,  remains uncertain.

The premier’s administration is mulling a series of sales tax hikes aimed at doubling the rate to 10 percent by 2015, but some observers have warned the increases could stall Abe’s growth plan.