Japan's GDP in the IV quarter fell at the fastest rate since 2014

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Japan's GDP fell by 6.3% year on year after increasing the consumption tax in the country. Such rates of decline became the highest over the past 5.5 years. The fall in GDP was noted for the first time since the third quarter of 2018.

Analysts had expected the Japanese economy to decline in the fourth quarter by only 3.7%. In the third quarter, according to revised data, Japan's GDP grew by 0.5%, and not by 1.8%, as previously reported.

Analysts also fear that the country's economy may contract in January-March 2020 against the backdrop of the spread of the Chinese coronavirus. A fall in GDP over two consecutive quarters will mean a technical recession.