MNI BRIEF: Japan Q2 GDP Revised Higher on Spending

The Bank of Japan's resolute commitment to ultra-easy policy to bolster growth has been justified as revisions to second quarter GDP showed the economy grew more quickly than originally estimated.

The economy grew 0.9% q/q, or an annualized 3.5%, compared with the first preliminary estimates of +0.5% q/q and an annualized +2.2%, second preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office Thursday showed.

Capital investment and private consumption were revised up and beat market forecasts. In the revised data, capital investment rose 2.0% q/q, revised up from the 1.4% rise seen in the preliminary release. The positive contribution from capital investments was revised to +0.3 pp from +0.2 pp.

Private consumption, which accounts for about 60% of Japan's GDP, was revised up to +1.2% q/q from +1.1% q/q, pushing overall GDP higher by a revised +0.6 pp, unchanged from +0.6pp.

The contribution of net exports -- exports minus imports -- was revised to +0.1 percentage point from 0.0 pp.

Private-sector inventories to total domestic output contributed a revised to -0.3 percentage point from -0.4 pp.

Public investment rose 1.0% q/q, revised up from +0.9%, and the GDP contribution from public investment was unrevised at 0.0 pp.