The economy grew an annualized real 2.6 percent in the three months through June with consumption and exports recuperating, the government said Monday, possibly further swaying Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's fall decision on whether to raise the 5 percent sales tax to 8 percent next April.
The rise in April-June inflation-adjusted gross domestic product corresponds to a 0.6 percent advance from the previous three months, the third straight quarter of growth, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically.
The result fell short of the average market forecast of an annualized 3.2 percent growth in real terms in a Kyodo News survey.