The FINANCIAL — Japanese capital investment fell 2.7% from the previous quarter in the three months through June, the government said on September 1, extending the pall over the country’s slowing economy, according to Nasdaq.
The figure, adjusted for seasonal variations, compared with a 6.0% increase in the January-March quarter, the Ministry of Finance said.
Economists are set to scrutinize the investment figures because the government will use them to fine-tune gross domestic product data for the second quarter. Preliminary data released last month showed that Japan’s GDP shrank 1.6% in annualized terms in the April-June period, dragged lower mainly by weak consumption and exports. A revised second- quarter GDP is due to be released Sept. 8.
Capital investment accounts for slightly less than 15% of Japan’s annual economic output and it has been seen as one of the few bright spots in the economy.
Compared with a year earlier, capital spending rose 5.6% in the second quarter, slower than the previous quarter’s 7.3% increase.
The quarterly survey also showed that corporate pretax earnings increased 23.8% from a year earlier in the second quarter, after a 0.4% gain in the previous quarter. Corporate sales climbed 1.1%, the ministry said.
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