Japan revised Q3 GDP growth lower to 0.3% rather than 0.5% - BBH

Research Team at BBH, notes that the Japan revised Q3 GDP growth unexpectedly lower to 0.3% rather than 0.5%, which reduces the annualized rate to 1.3% from 2.2%. 

Key Quotes

“Business spending and inventories drove the revisions, while the upticks in consumption were insufficient to do more than blunt some of the impacts.  The GDP deflator was revised to minus 0.2% from minus 0.1%, leaving Japan as one of the few countries still experiencing deflation.”

“At the same time, Japan adopted the best practices in terms of GDP calculation (which other countries such as the US and many European countries have already done).  Among other things, it means that research and development expenditures are counted as capital formation rather than an intermediate input.  This means that at the end of last year, the Japanese economy was about 6.5% larger (JPY532.2 trillion instead of JPY500.6 trillion) than previously measured.  The dollar held above its week's low against the yen (~JPY112.90).  A move now back above JPY113.60-JPY113.80 would likely help stabilize the dollar's tone.”