Japan’s economy shrank at a faster pace than first estimated as shoppers cut back further during summer’s COVID-19 surge, a sign of the heightened risk now facing the recovery should the omicron variant spread.
Gross domestic product contracted an annualized 3.6% in the three months through September, revised figures from the Cabinet Office showed Wednesday. Economists had expected a 3.1% overall slide, compared with the government’s initial 3% estimate.
While the revised data showed business investment wasn’t as weak as initially reported, a steeper fall in consumer spending is potentially worrisome because it suggests virus risks may have deterred shoppers more than first thought.