TOKYO (AP) — Japan's economic growth for the last three months of 2018 rebounded from a slump the previous quarter, growing at an annual rate of 1.4 percent.
The preliminary data the Cabinet Office released Thursday showed recovery in various categories, including exports, consumer demand, investments and government spending.
Gross domestic product, or the total value of a nation's goods and services, had contracted during the July-September quarter.
The data show growth remains weaker than the pace of the shrinking in July-September, which was at an annual rate of 2.6 percent.
Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said risks remain for the economy, such as trade friction with the U.S. in the auto sector, as well as a planned tax raise for this year.
