Japan upgrades Jan.-March GDP to annualized 0.5% contraction

Japan's economy shrank an annualized real 0.5 percent in the January-March period, revised up from an initially reported 1.0 percent contraction, on stronger personal consumption amid COVID-19 restrictions, government data showed Wednesday.The decline in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced in the country, corresponds to a 0.1 percent fall on a quarterly basis, the Cabinet Office said. It followed an annualized 4.0 percent expansion in the previous quarter.The latest figure for the quarter was better than the average forecast of an annual…READ FULL ARTICLE