Japan May Report Negative GDP Growth On Wednesday

Investors will be glued to data and minutes coming from the Federal Reserve this week but this isn't the only event investors have on their radar. Japan is scheduled to report its gross domestic product for its first quarter on Wednesday. According to economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, economists are calling for an inflation-adjusted growth of just 0.3 percent. However, a "handful" of the 20 economists the publication surveyed said that the economy likely shrank in the quarter. If Japan reports a contraction in its economy, it would mark the sixth time doing so over the past 3 years. Investors will be particularly focused on Japan's GDP at a time when its central bank, the Bank of Japan (BOJ), may be "losing credibility." Related Link: Is The Bank Of Japan Losing Credibility? Mohamed El-Erian Thinks So "Preliminary estimates of first quarter GDP (due this Wednesday) will likely show that the economy barely expanded, weighed down by still-weak domestic demand," CNBC quoted Izumi Devalier, an economist at HSBC as saying. "Meanwhile, there is a growing sense that BOJ easing is running into diminishing returns. As a result, the government is facing increasing pressure to do more of the heavy lifting to support growth."