TOKYO, Dec 8 (KUNA) -- Japan's economy in the July-September period shrank sharper than initially estimated, chiefly due to weaker-than-expected private consumption, the government said Friday.
The world's No. 3 economy's gross domestic product (GDP) weakened at an annual 2.9 percent pace in the third quarter, a downgrade from the preliminary figure of 2.1 percent decline released last month and marked the first contraction in four quarters, according to the Cabinet Office.
On a quarterly basis, GDP fell 0.7 percent in the three months ended September 30 from the previous quarter, instead of a preliminary figure of 0.5 percent slump.
Personal consumption, which makes up more than half of Japan's GDP, declined 0.2 percent, worse than a 0.04 contraction in the preliminary data.
GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically. (end) mk.mt