Japan revises Q1 GDP down to annualised 1.8% expansion

TOKYO, June 8 (Reuters) - Japan's economy grew slower than initially estimated in the January-March quarter from the previous three months, dragged by weak capital expenditure, revised data showed on Monday.

The figure released by the Cabinet Office showed the economy expanded an annualised 1.8% in the first quarter, compared with the initially estimated 2.1%. Economists' median forecast was for 1.3% growth.

Without annualisation, GDP grew 0.5%, slightly better than the median forecast for a 0.3% expansion and matching the preliminary figure.

Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy, increased 0.3%, also matching the initial data.

Businesses' capital expenditure shrank 0.7% in the first quarter, revised down from the initial estimate for a 0.3% rise and compared with an estimated 0.9% drop.

External demand, or exports minus imports, added 0.3 percentage point to GDP, unchanged from the preliminary data. Domestic demand contributed added 0.2 percentage point, also matching the initial figure. (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Sam Holmes)