Japan Q2 growth misses forecasts on weaker spending, investment

TOKYO: Japan's economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in April-June, government data showed on Monday (Aug 17), as lacklustre household spending and business investment partly offset the impact of strong exports.Gross domestic product rose 1.1 per cent increase in annualised terms, missing a median market estimate of 2.0 per cent growth in a Reuters poll and below an upwardly revised 1.9 per cent expansion in the previous quarter."Growth was positive, but the details were somewhat weaker than expected," said Kazutaka Maeda, senior economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute."Still, given the disappointing results are likely to have been driven by temporary factors, I don't think the latest data would suggest a weakness ahead or affect the timing of the Bank of Japan's next interest r