Japanese economy likely to have grown 1.2 pct sequentially in Q4 2017 – DBS Bank

Japanese economic growth data for the fourth quarter of 2017 is set to be released this week. According to a DBS Bank research report, Japan’s GDP is likely to have grown 1.2 percent sequentially in the December quarter. While this is below the third and second quarter’s 2.5 percent and 2.9 percent growth, it continues to be a strong rate and above the potential growth pace of 1 percent.

It is evident that the nation has continued to advance from the cyclical upswing in the global economy and the rise in overseas electronics demand. The monthly indicators including exports, industrial production, and the manufacturing PMI held up well in the fourth quarter.

But the rebound continued to be marginal in domestic retail sales, consumer sentiment and wage growth. A full-fledged and self-sustained rebound is not yet strongly established at the current stage, stated DBS Bank.

At 20:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Japanese Yen was highly bullish at 149.129, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at 3.10027. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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