Japan's GDP in Q2 down at fastest pace in 3 years

Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2014 shrank 6.8 percent from a year earlier, down at the fastest pace since the March 2011 disaster, the Japanese government said Wednesday.
The data, with the inflation factors deducted, was down 1.7 percent from the January-March period, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report, owing it mainly to the consumption tax hike since April 1.
Consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of Japan's GDP, dropped a real 5.0 percent on quarterly basis, compared with a 2.0 percent climb in the first quarter of 2014.
Exports declined 0.4 percent, down from a 6.5 percent surge in the previous quarter, due to sluggish shipments of electronics devices.
Imports shed 5.6 percent affected by a fall in energy imports including crude oil. While in the Jan.-March period, the data soared 6.4 percent.