Japan’s economy took a smaller hit than first thought during a summer marked by a renewed COVID-19 surge and a plunge in the yen, with a return to growth expected this quarter.

Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 0.8% in the three months to the end of September from the previous period, revised figures from the Cabinet Office showed Thursday. That was smaller than the 1.2% contraction first estimated and a 1% drop forecast by economists.

The revised figures showed that stronger exports reduced the heavy negative impact on trade from the yen drop, and that capital spending by firms held up.