Japan’s economy rebounded in the third quarter, growing an annualised 2.6 per cent in real terms, compared with a 1.6 per cent contraction in the three months to June, the cabinet office said.

The notoriously volatile gross domestic product numbers were better than expected, though the real rate of growth was flattered by a quarter-on-quarter 0.3 per cent fall in the GDP deflator. Nominal growth, without the effect of falling prices, was a more modest 1.4 per cent on an annualised basis.