Q2 capex growth accelerates from previous quarter
Corporate sales, recurring profits also rise in Q2
Capex data is used to calculate revised GDP
Preliminary data show Q2 GDP rises annualised 3.1

TOKYO, Sept 2 Reuters Japanese corporate spending on plant and equipment rose at a faster pace in the second quarter, keeping alive expectations of a domesticled recovery in economic growth and supporting the case for more interest rate increases over coming months.

The solid expenditure data, which will be used to calculate revised gross domestic product GDP figures due on Sept. 9, comes on top of a factory survey showing a milder contraction in manufacturing activity last month.

Capital spending accelerated by 7.4 yearonyear in the AprilJune quarter from the previous quarter39;s rise of 6.8, Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday. It grew 1.2 on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis.

Capital expenditure is one of the key gauges of domestic demandled economic growth as policymakers are counting on business investment to be an engine for the world39;s No. 4 economy as exports struggle amid uncertainties around the U.S. and Chinese economies.

Preliminary data last month showed Japan39;s economy rebounded strongly in the second quarter from a slump at the start of the year, led by a solid rise in consumption.

Taken together, the positive economic impulse supports the case for the central bank to raise interest rates further in coming months despite the drag seen from…