Japan GDP slows to 0.6% on quarter in Q2

Japan's gross domestic product added just 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said in Monday's preliminary report.

The headline figure missed forecasts for an increase of 0.9 percent, which would have been unchanged from the first quarter.

On a yearly basis, GDP was up 2.6 percent - well shy of expectations for 3.6 percent following the 4.1 percent gain in Q1.

Nominal GDP was up 0.7 percent on quarter, also missing forecasts for an increase of 1.0 percent following the 0.6 percent gain in the previous quarter.

The GDP deflator was down 0.3 percent on year versus forecasts for a contraction of 0.7 percent after falling 1.1 percent in the three months prior.

Private consumption added an annual 0.8 percent, beating forecasts for 0.5 percent after rising 0.9 percent in the previous three months.

Capital expenditure fell 0.1 percent on year - well shy of expectations for a 0.7 percent increase after sliding 0.3 percent in Q1.

Upon the release of the data, Japan's Economics Minister Akira Amari told reporters that the numbers show Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies are slowly starting to have the desired effect of healing the economy.

Amari added that the government must continue to support business spending, which remains weaker than expected.

Also on Monday, the Bank of Japan said that an index measuring the prices of domestic corporate goods in Japan was up 0.5 percent in July compared to the previous month, standing at 102.1.

That beat forecasts for a gain of 0.2 percent following the 0.1 percent increase in June.

On a yearly basis, corporate goods prices were up 2.2 percent, beating expectations for 1.9 percent after climbing 1.2 percent in the previous month.

Export prices were down 0.1 percent on month and 1.5 percent on year, the data showed, while import prices fell 0.5 percent on month and 0.4 percent on year.