"Today's bad economic numbers deliver unpleasant news for Noda"
- Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA
Japanese economy contracted last quarter, amid weak exports and consumer spending, adding to sings the world's third biggest economy is heading towards recession. According to the Cabinet Office, nation's gross domestic product erased 3.5% from a year earlier, while on a monthly basis the economy contracted 0.9%. Japan's exports fell 5.0% in July-September, private consumption lost 0.5%, and capital investment tumbled 3.2%. The weak data is putting more pressure on the BoJ to expand its stimulus programme to bolster economic growth.
"Today's bad economic numbers deliver unpleasant news for Noda," said Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in Tokyo, who accurately forecast the GDP figure.
"The GDP data confirms that the economy has fallen into a recession," said Tatsushi Shikano, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 0.35 per cent, or 30.60 points, to 8,645.84. The broader Topix Index fell 0.16 per cent, or 1.18 points, to 721.40.
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