Japan's economy grew faster than expected thanks to improved corporate spending and a surprise increase in consumption, supporting the central bank's argument for further interest rate hikes.
The data showed gross domestic product grew 2.8 percent year-on-year in the fiscal quarter from (October to December, beating median market estimates by a 1.0 percent increase. Upbeat data helped lift the benchmark Nikkei stock index in Tokyo and the yen.
The annual rise in GDP follows revised growth of 1.7 percent in the previous quarter and translates into a quarterly rise of 0.7 percent, which is also better than the median estimate of a 0.3 percent rise.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
