Japan's economy expanded for the seventh straight quarter as surprisingly robust corporate investment boosted a boom, according to government data released today.
The world's second-largest economy grew at an annualised 2 percent for the July-September period, or at a pace of 0.5 per cent on quarter, the data said. It beat a forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires for a 1.1 annual gain, or a 0.3 per cent on-quarter rise.
The healthy reading matches the continuous growth Japan marked during its years of modernisation in the 1960s - but the recent expansion has been far more moderate, underlining the delicate expansion of a mature economy.
Although private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy, shrank 0.7 per cent on quarter in the three months ended September 30th, capital investment grew a stunning 2.9 per cent, according to Cabinet Office data.
In previous decades, Japan relied mostly on exports, especially to the United States, to keep growth going. In recent years, consumer and company spending is bolstering growth.
The Cabinet Office said exports grew 2.7 per cent in July-September, mostly on booming electronic and telecommunication product exports, offsetting weak private consumption.
The latest data are so solid, growth could even stay flat during the second fiscal half to achieve the government target of 2.1 per cent growth for the fiscal year ending March 2007, said the Cabinet Office.