GDP edged up 0.1% in third quarter

The economy expanded a real 0.1 percent in the October-December period from the previous quarter for the first expansion in three quarters.

The figure was revised upward from a 0.1 percent fall in the initial report, the Cabinet Office said Monday.

The result raised hopes that the economy will move out of a temporary pause stemming from inventory adjustments in the information-technology sector.

The growth, in terms of GDP, translates into an annualized expansion of 0.5 percent, a turnaround from the earlier reported 0.5 percent decline.

The largest factor for the upward revision of GDP was a rise in inventories of items such as industrial machinery, a Cabinet Office official said.