2011-08-15 10:23

TOKYO - Japan's economy shrank 1.3 percent in the April-June quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of contraction, the government said Monday.

The contraction, as measured by gross domestic product, corresponds to a 0.3 percent fall from the January-March period on an annualized real basis, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report.

The data is lower than the average market projection of a 2.8 percent fall.

Domestic consumption contributed 0.4 percent to GDP, while overseas consumption contributed a minus 0.8 percent, as the March earthquake and tsunami interrupted Japan's export.

Consumer spending -- which makes up about 60 percent of Japanese GDP -- decreased 0.1 percent from the January-March period.

Corporate capital spending rose 0.2 percent, while public investment increased 3.0 percent on government-sponsored reconstruction efforts.

On a nominal basis, GDP fell an annualized 5.7 percent in the April-June period, which corresponds to a 1.4 percent contraction from the previous quarter.