Japan third-quarter GDP shrinks 0.9% from previous 3 months

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy shrank 0.9 per cent in July-September from the previous quarter, the first contraction in three quarters, government data showed, in a sign that faltering global demand and weak consumer spending may push the economy into a mild recession.

The contraction was in line with the median estimate for a 0.9 per cent fall, according to a Reuters poll, and followed a revised 0.1 per cent rise in the April-June quarter.

Japan's gross domestic product figure translated into an annualised decline of 3.5 per cent, slightly bigger than the median economist forecast of a 3.4 per cent fall.