Japanese Preliminary GDP Contracts in Fourth Quarter

Japanese Preliminary GDP Actual -3.3%, Expected -3.1%, Previous -0.5%
Japanese Preliminary GDP Price Index Actual 0.9%, Expected 0.2%, Previous -1.6%

Release Explanation: The Gross Domestic Product is a comprehensive measure of a Japan's overall production and consumption of goods and services. GDP serves as one of the primary measures of overall economic well-being. GDP announcements generally conform to expectations as the number comes out after most Japanese production figures that lead to overall GDP have already been released.

Trade Desk Thoughts: Japanese growth contracted by 3.3 percent during the fourth quarter, which was below market expectations for a 3.1 percent decrease. This is the third month that the GDP has contracted in the worlds second largest economy as it falls further into a recession. Meanwhile, the third quarter was revised to 0.6 percent from 0.5 percent. The steepest drop in the index was seen in capital investments which fell to 5.3 percent and exports which fell by 13.9 percent. On an annualized basis the GDP decreased 12.7 percent which is worse than expectations for a 11.6 percent decline.

Forex Technical Reaction: The Japanese yen has found support near the neutral pivot point after gapping down 15 pips at the open of trading this evening

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