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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Japan economy set to show growth | Japan economy set to show growth |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Japan's economy is tipped to show growth for the three months to June, after showing four consecutive quarter-on-quarter contractions. | Japan's economy is tipped to show growth for the three months to June, after showing four consecutive quarter-on-quarter contractions. |
| Analysts predict growth of 1% during the quarter, after shrinkage of 3.8% in the previous three-month period. | Analysts predict growth of 1% during the quarter, after shrinkage of 3.8% in the previous three-month period. |
| The data, released on Monday, could mean the recession is over in Japan. | The data, released on Monday, could mean the recession is over in Japan. |
| Recent figures have shown other nations are also coming out of the recession, including Germany, France and Hong Kong, a sign the slowdown is easing. | Recent figures have shown other nations are also coming out of the recession, including Germany, France and Hong Kong, a sign the slowdown is easing. |
| Not worsening | |
| Japan is heavily reliant on its exports so growth overseas could bode well for its recovery. | |
| But while the worst might be over, the pace and depth of the recovery will rely on whether Asia can be a "true engine of global growth", wrote the Bank of England's Andrew Sentance said in the Sunday Times. | |
| Mr Sentance, who is part of the bank's rate-setting monetary policy committee, said consumer demand from Asian nations would have to increase to boost growth. | |
| Japan's economy - like other Asian nations - is heavily reliant on exports. The slowdown in the US has hit it hard as American consumers have limited their spending. | |
| China's government has made a point of saying that recovery will have to be based on domestic demand. | |
| "The prospects for global recovery depend on whether Asia can become a true engine of global growth, not simply by meeting demand originating in America and Europe but propelled by consumer spending and investment in this key region," wrote Mr Sentance. | |
| In a recent Bank of Japan report, the central bank underlined its cautious view of the economy. | |
| While it said conditions in the world's second-largest economy had stopped worsening, it warned that unemployment would stay high and consumer spending low. | |
| Last month, the bank forecast that Japan's economy would shrink by 3.4% in the 12 months to 31 March 2010. | |
| Beating forecasts | |
| The French and German economies both grew by 0.3% between April and June, bringing to an end recessions in Europe's largest economies that have lasted a year. | The French and German economies both grew by 0.3% between April and June, bringing to an end recessions in Europe's largest economies that have lasted a year. |
| Analysts had not expected the data, suggesting recovery could be faster than previously expected. | Analysts had not expected the data, suggesting recovery could be faster than previously expected. |
| And Hong Kong recorded growth of 3.3% in the three months from April to June. | And Hong Kong recorded growth of 3.3% in the three months from April to June. |
| That data was also better than had been expected, with the government subsequently increasing its forecast for growth in the whole year. | That data was also better than had been expected, with the government subsequently increasing its forecast for growth in the whole year. |