Japan Q4 Real GDP Revised Down To +0.9%, +3.8% Annualized 10  MAR   -- Japan Q4 Real GDP Revised Down To +0.9% From Prelim +1.1% -- Japan Q4 Annualized Real GDP Revised Down To +3.8% From +4.6% -- Japan Q4 Capex Revised To +0.9% Q/Q From Prelim +1.0% -- Japan Q4 Revised Domestic Demand Contribution +0.4 Point Vs +0.6 -- Japan Q4 Revised Net Export Contribution +0.5 Points Vs +0.5 Pt -- Japan Q4 Revised Private Consumption +0.7% Q/Q Vs Prelim +0.7% -- Japan Q4 R... -- Japan Q4 Real GDP Revised Down To +0.9% From Prelim +1.1% -- Japan Q4 Annualized Real GDP Revised Down To +3.8% From +4.6% -- Japan Q4 Capex Revised To +0.9% Q/Q From Prelim +1.0% -- Japan Q4 Revised Domestic Demand Contribution +0.4 Point Vs +0.6 -- Japan Q4 Revised Net Export Contribution +0.5 Points Vs +0.5 Pt -- Japan Q4 Revised Private Consumption +0.7% Q/Q Vs Prelim +0.7% -- Japan Q4 Revised Private Inventory Contribution -0.1 Pt Vs +0.1 Pt -- Japan Q4 Revised Govt Spending Contribution +0.1 Pt Vs +0.2 Pt TOKYO (MNI) - Japan's economy expanded a real 0.9% in the October-December period from the previous quarter, revised down slightly from a preliminary 1.1% rise, as private-sector inventories and government spending turned out to be smaller than initially estimated, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday. On an annualized basis, GDP rose 3.8%, also revised down from a preliminary 4.6% growth. The July-September 2009 figures were also revised down to a decline of 0.1% q/q, or an annualized -0.6%, from the preliminary estimate of near zero growth at +0.01% q/q. This changed the initial result that Japan's economy grew for the third straight quarter. The real growth in Q4 of 2009 is now the first in two quarters since +1.5% q/q in April-June (annualized +6.0%) and only the third rise during 2008 and 2009. The latest growth is still above the economy's potential growth rate, which estimated somewhere about 0.5% Most economists expected Q4 GDP figures to be revised slightly from the initial figures following the outcome of the latest quarterly business survey by the Ministry of Finance released on March 4. The combined capital investment by Japanese non-financial companies fell 17.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009 from a year earlier, the 11th straight quarterly decline and the better than the 24.8% drop in Q3, the survey showed. On a seasonally adjusted, quarter-over-quarter basis, overall capex (excluding spending on software) fell 0.9% in October-December after an upwardly revised 8.2% drop in July-September (previously -8.8%). The Cabinet Office used this piece of information from the demand side to revise the preliminary GDP data, but the latest estimate showed that capex's +0.1 percentage point contribution to the overall growth was unchanged. However, the actual growth in private non-residential investment, or capex, was revised down slightly to +0.9% quarter on quarter from +1.0% initially reported. The MOF survey also indicated a rise in inventories, but the revised GDP data showed that private-sector inventories actually made a negative 0.1 percentage point to the overall economic growth, instead of the positive 0.1 point found in the initial reading. The other factor to pull down the overall GDP growth to +0.9% q/q from a preliminary +1.1% was weaker-than-expected government spending. Government consumption was revised down to +0.6% q/q from +0.8% in Q4, with its contribution revised down to +0.1 percentage point from +0.2 point. From a year earlier, Q4 2009 real GDP fell a revised 1.0% (vs preliminary -0.4%) after falling 5.2% in the third quarter of 2009. The contribution of domestic demand to the fourth quarter GDP was revised down to +0.4 percentage point from the +0.6 percentage point originally reported. The contribution of net exports was unchanged from a preliminary 0.5% percentage point. Other details from the latest GDP data: - Exports were unrevised at +5.0% in Q4 (vs +8.4% in Q3). - Imports were also revised at +1.3% in Q4 (vs +5.4% in Q3). - Private consumption was unrevised at +0.7% (vs +0.6% in Q3). In nominal terms the economy rose 0.1% (vs. a preliminary +0.2%) in the October-December quarter after a revised 0.6% drop in the previous quarter. It was the first q/q rise in seven quarters. In calendar 2009, Japan's economy shrank by an inflation-adjusted 5.2%, revised down from a preliminary 5.0% fall, which was the sharpest drop on record. For the whole of fiscal 2008, real GDP contracted an unrevised 3.7% drop and compared with the 1.8% rise in fiscal 2007. tokyo@marketnews.com ** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 ** [TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$,MT$$$$] 3/10/2010 8:02:00 PM