Japan's economy shrank slightly less than initially thought in the fourth quarter of 2008, but still logged its worst performance in almost 35 years as exports collapsed, data showed today.
Asia's biggest economy contracted by 3.2 per cent in the three months to December from the previous quarter -- 12.1 per cent on an annualised basis, the government said. The figure was better than a first estimate of a 3.3 per cent contraction, for an annualised drop of 12.7 per cent. But even after the revision, it was the worst quarter since early 1974 in the wake of the first oil shock, a government official said. The economy contracted for a third straight quarter as the global downturn choked demand for the country's cars and high-tech goods. Japan was once seen as relatively immune to the financial crisis, but its economy is now shrinking much faster than many other major economies including the United States, the epicentre of the credit crunch. Recent data point to another sharp contraction in the first quarter of 2009. Japan logged a record current account deficit in January as exports almost halved from a year earlier, while factory output has plummeted. B.Karthick Research Analyst www.kences1.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Kences1" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/kences1?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
