Japan's Q2 GDP softens to 0.3%; industrial output rebounds to 1.9%
MacroDigital Finance
Japan's economy grew 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026, cooling from the first quarter's pace and missing market forecasts of 0.5%, according to preliminary data. Despite the GDP slowdown, June industrial production rose 1.9% month-on-month, beating the 1.3% flash estimate to mark a third straight month of growth and the strongest monthly surge since January. On a year-over-year basis, industrial output rebounded 4.9%, reversing May's 2.1% drop to post its sharpest annual expansion since September 2022. Following the release, the Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.4% toward 69,000, while the Japanese yen climbed to around 159 per dollar, recovering some of last week's losses.
