Article by ForexTime
The Tokyo Nikkei rose to a near 8-year high, shrugging off weaker-than-expected growth figures released before the market opened.
The first read of Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the October-December period indicated growth at a 0.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter pace. This was below the 0.9% consensus expectation. GDP expanded at a 2.2% annualized rate, undershooting forecasts of 3.7 per cent.
The reading for the third quarter was also revised to a contraction of 0.6 per cent, down from the original reported fall of 0.5 per cent. The deflator for the quarter rose to 2.3% compared to 2.0% in July-September.
The yen rose modestly after the data release, with the U.S. dollar slipping to 118.35 yen.
Some market participants took the data as positive and that Japan’s economy pulled out of recession in the final months of 2014, even though the rebound was smaller than expected. Some are concerned that the miss in GDP expectations undermine Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ’s efforts to get the country out of its long slump.
Article by ForexTime
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