(ANSA-AFP) - TOKYO, FEB 15 - Once forecast to become the
world's biggest economy, Japan slipped below Germany last year
to fourth place, official data showed Thursday, although India
is projected to leapfrog both later this decade. Despite growing
1.9 percent, Japan's nominal 2023 gross domestic product in
dollar terms was $4.2 trillion, government data showed, compared
with $4.5 trillion for Germany, according to figures released
there last month. The change in positions primarily reflects the
sharp fall in the yen against the dollar, which slumped by
almost a fifth in 2022 and 2023 against the US currency,
including around seven percent last year. This was in part
because the Bank of Japan has maintained negative interest
rates, unlike other major central banks, which have raised
borrowing costs to fight soaring inflation. (ANSA-AFP).
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