Japan's Q3 revised GDP widens contraction to annualised 2.3%

TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Japan's economy contracted faster than initially reported in the July-September period from the previous quarter, revised government data showed on Monday. The revised figure for gross domestic product (GDP) released by the Cabinet Office showed the economy shrank an annualised 2.3%. It compared with economists' median forecast for a 2.0% fall and initial reading for a 1.8% decline. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP fell 0.6%, compared with the median forecast for a 0.5% fall and initial estimate for a 0.4% dip. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the Japanese economy, inched up 0.2%, versus a 0.1% uptick in the preliminary reading. The capital expenditure component of GDP, a barometer of private demand, fell 0.2% in the third quarter, revised down from the initial estimate for a 1.0% rise. Economists had estimated a 0.4% uptick.

External demand, or exports minus imports, knocked 0.2 percentage points off growth, unchanged from the preliminary reading. Domestic demand shaved 0.4 percentage point, compared with a 0.2 percentage point drag in the initial figure. (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama, Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)