Japan's economy expanded in the April-June period for the third consecutive quarter, mainly due to growth in exports.

The Cabinet Office released preliminary figures on Tuesday showing GDP grew an annualized 6.0 percent in real terms from the previous quarter.

Exports were up 3.2 percent compared with the January-March period.

An easing of the semiconductor shortage helped auto exports, while spending by foreign travelers also contributed to growth in exports.

Consumer spending was down 0.5 percent, as prolonged inflation continued to weigh on the economy, while demand for services such as dining and travel recovered as the coronavirus situation was downgraded in May to the same category as the flu.

Capital investment remained at around the same level as in the previous quarter, with just a slight increase of 0.03 percent.

Spending on housing was up 1.9 percent.

The size of Japan's economy in the April-June period came to the annual equivalent of 560 trillion yen, or 3.8 trillion dollars. That was the highest in yen terms since comparable data first became available in 1994.