Japan's economy grew for the fourth straight quarter and at a faster-than-expected pace in the three months to December as a pick-up in exports added to booming domestic demand.
The strong reading bolstered expectations in financial markets that the Bank of Japan will end its five-year-old ultra-easy monetary policy around April, a move seen paving the way for higher interest rates later in the year.
GDP grew 1.4 per cent in price-adjusted terms in October-December from the previous quarter, Cabinet Office data showed today, exceeding economists' forecasts of a 1.2 per cent expansion.
That translated into 5.5 per cent growth on an annualised basis, outpacing forecasts of 5 per cent and a meagre 1.1 per cent in the United States in the same period.
It also suggested that the economy may be capable of surpassing its longest postwar expansion spanning 1965 to 1970.