Japan's economy grows at 3.3 pct annual pace in 1Q

TOKYO — Japan's economy grew at a stronger-than-expected 3.3 percent annual pace in the first quarter, racking up its third consecutive quarter of growth.

Japan's gross domestic product — or the value of a nation's goods and services — grew 0.8 percent in the January-March quarter from 2007's fourth quarter, according to Cabinet Office data released Friday. That would be a 3.3 percent annual pace.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected, on average, a 0.7 percent quarterly rise and an annual rate of 2.8 percent.

But analysts warned that growth in Japan — the world's second largest economy — was almost certain to slow in coming months. They noted technical factors, such as a downward revision for the previous quarter and an extra day in February for the leap year, boosted the first-quarter numbers.

"The appearance of good news is actually partly false," said Kenichi Kawasaki, an economist at Lehman Brothers in Tokyo.

Japanese company profits are being hammered by rising oil prices, causing them to be cautious about investments and salary raises, he said. And consumers can't be expected to spend more if their paychecks are shrinking amid soaring energy and food prices, he added.

Analysts said much of the first-quarter boost to the economy came from exports to emerging markets, such as China and other Asian nations. But the higher energy and food prices could also impact Japan's exports going forward.

"It's unthinkable that growth will continue at this pace," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, economist at BNP Paribas in Tokyo.

Company investments sank into negative territory, contracting 0.9 percent in January-March after rising the two previous quarters.

The latest data showed both exports and imports remain relatively strong — with exports growing 4.5 percent from the previous quarter, while imports grew 2 percent.

Private sector demand was weak but growing, at 0.5 percent for the quarter, while household consumption climbed 0.8 percent.

For the fiscal year ended March, Japan's economy managed to grow 1.5 percent, although that was weaker than the 2.5 percent growth for the year ending March 2007.

The GDP numbers for the last three quarters have been improving. Japan's economy grew 0.3 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 30, and 0.6 percent in the quarter ended Dec. 31, according to the government.

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