Japan confirms quarter to quarter contraction

Japan's gross domestic product in the last quarter of 2012 came at -0.1%, against expectations of + 0.1% and last reading of -1% (downward revision) in the third quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, Japan's Q4 GDP annual declined to +0.4% vs a forecast of +0.4%. Japan's -0.1% GDP quarterly read represents a quarter to quarter contraction, also known as technical recession, the third since the global financial crisis of 2008.