Capital spending by firms rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier in the April-June period for the ninth straight year-on-year quarterly gain, the government said Tuesday, indicating a continued recovery in business investment.
The 5.6 percent rise, however, missed economists' estimates for an 8.8 percent gain. This suggests the country's economy shrank more than the initial estimate of a 0.4 percent contraction on the quarter, said Marcel Thieliant, an economist at Capital Economics.
Business investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building plants and purchasing new equipment totaled ¥9.04 trillion,the Finance Ministry said.