Japan downgrades GDP contraction in Q3 to annual 1.9%

Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2014 shrank an annualized 1.9 percent in inflation adjusted terms, worse than a preliminary 1.6 percent, revised government data showed Monday.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy fell 0.5 percent in the three-month period to September, against a preliminary reading of a 0.4 percent drop, the Cabinet Office said.
Late last month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe postponed a second-stage consumption tax hike which was due to take place in 2015 one day after the preliminary GDP data for July-September period was released.
However, the worse-than-expected real GDP reading showed Monday further adds to concern over the world's third-largest economy.
Capital expenditure fell 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, more than a preliminary 0.2 percent decline.
Public investment grew 1.4 percent but downgraded from an initially-reported 2.2 percent rise.
Private consumption, which accounts for roughly 60 percent of Japan's GDP, rose 0.4 percent, unchanged from the preliminary data.
Imports were up 0.7 percent, compared with the previously reported 0.8 percent rise, while exports stayed unchanged at a 1.3 percent increase.