Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed business and consumer spending, keeping policymakers under pressure for bolder action to prevent the recession from deepening, Reuters reports. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank an annualised 27.8 percent in April-June, government data showed on Monday, marking the biggest decline since comparable data became available in 1980. It was the third straight quarter of contraction andslightly bigger than the median market forecast for a 27.2 percent drop. "The big decline can be explained by the decrease inconsumption and exports," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. "I expect growth to turn positive in the July-September quarter.

Source: The Standard August 17, 2020 00:56 UTC