Australia GDP Expands at the Fastest Pace in 2-Years

Household spending in Japan declined for the second consecutive month in April, falling 0.40%. The decline was April was moderate compared to March's -5.30% dip, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed on Tuesday. Economists expected to see a decline of 1.30% for the month. The weak data is likely to further weigh on the decision to delay the much talked about sales tax hike which is intended to hike the current 8.00% to 10.00% - recently postponed until October 2019. Household spending or consumption which accounts for over 60% of Japan's economic output hinted at early signs that the economy is not out of the woods yet.

Canada's GDP in the first quarter grew at a pace of 2.40%, less than the estimated 2.80% in a report from Statistics Canada. However, first quarter growth was stronger than the fourth quarter's downward revised quarterly GDP growth of 0.50%. On a year over year basis, Canada's GDP grew at a pace of 1.10%, slight below the 1.40% growth seen previously. Despite failing to match the median estimates, overall growth continued to remain the strongest in over a year, with gains coming from exports of goods and services which increased 6.90%.