Japan's economy grew an annualized real 1.9 percent in the October-December period, upgraded from preliminary data thanks to an upswing in capital expenditure, the government said Friday.
The reading showed the world's third-largest economy had rebounded after a string of natural disasters caused a contraction the previous quarter, although economists remained cautious following a downgrade by the Cabinet Office the previous day of another key economic indicator.
Friday's upgrade was largely in line with the average forecast, for 1.8 percent growth, that had been made by private-sector economists polled by Kyodo News. Compared with the previous quarter, real gross domestic product — the total value of goods and services produced in the country adjusted for inflation — grew 0.5 percent, according to the data from the Cabinet Office.