Iran Press/ Iran News: The global recession risks, a weak yen and higher import costs has taken a toll on household consumption and businesses.
The world’s third-biggest economy has struggled to motor on despite the recent lifting of COVID curbs and has faced intensifying pressure from red-hot global inflation, sweeping interest rate increases worldwide and the Ukraine war, CNN reported.
Gross domestic product fell an annualized 1.2% in July-September, official data showed, compared with economists’ median estimate for a 1.1% expansion and a revised 4.6% rise in the second quarter.
It translated into a quarterly decline of 0.3%, versus a forecast 0.3% growth.
On top of being squeezed by a global slowdown and soaring inflation, Japan has been dealing with the challenge of the yen’s slide to 32-year lows against the dollar, which has magnified cost-of-living strains by further lifting the price of everything from fuel to food items.
“The contraction was unexpected,” said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at Itochu Economic Research Institute, adding that the biggest aberration were the larger-than-expected imports.
However, the risks to Japan’s outlook have risen as the global economy teeters on the brink of recession.
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