AlQa'dah 02, 1436, August 17, 2015, SPA -- The Japanese economy shrank at an annualized rate of 1.6 per cent in the April-to-June period due mainly to sluggish consumption, the government said Monday, according to dpa. The reading was slightly better than the 1.9-per-cent contraction forecast in a poll of economists by the Nikkei business daily. Private consumption, which makes up 60 per cent of output, fell 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while corporate investment edged down 0.1 per cent, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report. The office also revised gross domestic product growth up to 4.5 per cent in the January-to-March quarter from 3.9-per-cent estimated two months ago.
