
Please try another search
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan is considering raising its forecast for fiscal 2022 real gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 3.0% or more after taking into account the impact of a record $317 billion extra budget, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
The projection would be an upgrade from a forecast for 2.2% real GDP growth for the fiscal year starting in April 2022 released at a mid-year review in July.
"The projected growth figure is not that overly bullish, considering the continued growth thanks to eased restrictions and a high vaccination rate," said Saisuke Sakai, senior economist at Mizuho Research and Technologies.
"Yet it does not appear to weave in the risks around the Omicron (variant) and another wave of COVID-19 outbreak next year much."
The cabinet was set to approve the new forecast on Thursday, Yomiuri said. The update comes after parliament on Monday approved the 36 trillion yen ($316.73 billion) extra budget for the current fiscal year.
Japan has lagged other advanced nations in overcoming a coronavirus pandemic-induced slump, forcing policymakers to maintain massive fiscal and monetary support even as crisis mode policies are dialled back elsewhere.
"Pressures to ramp up fiscal spending are all the more increasing, as the ruling party faces an upper house election next summer," Sakai said, adding the accelerating consumer inflation could fuel the trend further.
The Bank of Japan kept its ultra-loose monetary easing unchanged in its December rate review last week, except for partially winding down emergency pandemic funding.
The world's third-largest economy declined an annualised 3.6% in the third quarter following a resurgence of COVID-19 cases over the summer, which led to fresh restrictions that curbed growth, especially private consumption.
The government was likely to lower its forecast for fiscal 2021 growth to about 2.5% from 3.7% expected previously, Yomiuri said, adding it was also likely to delay its forecast for a return to pre-coronavirus levels to beyond the year-end.
($1 = 113.6600 yen)
By David Randall NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bad news may once again be good news on Wall Street, as signs of slowing U.S. growth fan hopes that the Federal Reserve may not need to...
By Ann Saphir and Howard Schneider (Reuters) - Evidence U.S. inflation is cooling will not budge Federal Reserve policymakers from half-point interest rate hikes planned for...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is carrying $330 billion in unrealized losses on its holdings of U.S. Treasury and mortgage-backed securities as of the end of...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.