Japan's GDP fell 3.9% in the first quarter

RTTNews reports that the Cabinet Office said in final reading that Japan's gross domestic product shrank an annualized 3.9 percent on year in the first quarter of 2021. That exceeded expectations for a decline of 4.8 percent following the 11.7 percent surge in the three months prior. On a quarterly basis, GDP was down 1.0 percent - again beating forecasts for a decline of 1,2 percent following the 2.8 percent increase in the previous three months.

External demand was down 0.2 percent on quarter after rising 1.1 percent in the previous three months, while private consumption dropped 1.5 percent on quarter after gaining 2.2 percent three months earlier.

Also the Ministry of Finance said that Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,321.8 billion yen in April. That missed expectations for a surplus of 1,500.6 billion yen following the 2,650.1 billion yen surplus in March. The capital account showed a surplus of 3.4 billion yen, while the financial account saw a shortfall of 242.7 billion yen.

The Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.9 percent on year in May, standing at 578.366 trillion yen. That follows the 4.8 percent increase in April.