Japanese officials are under pressure to take action after the economy shrunk at a record pace overnight. Policymakers are scrambling to prevent a deeper recession as the COVID-19 crisis batters economies across the globe.
The third straight quarter of declines knocked the size of real gross domestic product (GDP) to decade-low levels.
While the economy is emerging from the state of depression after lockdowns were lifted in late May, many analysts expect any rebound in the current quarter to be modest as a renewed rise in infections keep consumers’ purse-strings tight.
“The big decline can be explained by the decrease in consumption and exports,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
“I expect growth to turn positive in the July-September quarter. But globally, the rebound is sluggish everywhere except for China.”
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9am update: Cautious start for UK and EU markets
It has been a slow start to the days trading on both sides of the Channel this morning.
FTSE is up 5 points, a rise of 0.08% on yesterday’s close of 6,090.
Euronext 100 is up 0.03%, CAC 40 is up 0.21%, DAX is up 0.19% and Swiss Market Index is up 0.14%.
More to follow…