Revised data show Japan’s economy contracted 1.2 pct in 2Q

In this June 26, 2015 photo, a man walks past the shelves of shirts in Tokyo. Japan’s economy contracted at a minus 1.2 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, on higher than earlier estimated inventories and consumer demand. The revised growth figure released Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015 was better than some economists had anticipated. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) In this June 26, 2015 photo, a man walks past the shelves of shirts in Tokyo. Japan’s economy contracted at a minus 1.2 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, on higher than earlier estimated inventories and consumer demand. The revised growth figure released Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015 was better than some economists had anticipated. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

By Associated Press September 7, 2015 2 min read

TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s economy contracted at a minus 1.2 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, according to revised data released Tuesday that show persisting weakness in corporate investment is still hindering a recovery.

The revised growth figure released Tuesday was better than some economists had anticipated. A preliminary estimate last month showed the world’s third-largest economy contracting at a minus 1.6 percent annual rate.

But economists said much of the change stemmed from an upward revision in private inventories, and the general trend is weaker than expected. Corporate investment fell 0.9 percent in a much larger drop than the 0.1 percent decline earlier reported.

Still, the higher inventories and a revision in consumer spending to minus 0.7 percent instead of minus 0.8 percent as earlier estimated helped to offset weaker government and corporate investment.

“The details were hardly reassuring,” Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in a commentary. He expects growth to be positive but tepid in the current quarter, based on the data seen so far.