Japan Q3 GDP rebounds as quake damage heals

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a reception hosted by the U.S.-Japan Council and APEC Host Committee in Honolulu, Hawaii November 11, 2011.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy grew 1.5 percent in July-September from the previous quarter following three quarters of contraction as exports and consumption rebounded from a slump caused by the March earthquake, government data showed on Monday.

The quarter-on-quarter rise was in line with the median estimate for a 1.5 percent increase and follows a 0.5 percent contraction in the previous quarter.

Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) figure translated into an annualized increase of 6.0 percent, the Cabinet Office said, in line with economists' median forecast of a 6.1 percent rise and surpassing 2.5 percent growth in the United States in the same quarter.

Economists expect growth to sputter in the final quarter of this year as the yen's persistent strength and slowing global growth weigh down on exports as well as corporate and consumer spending.

(Reporting by Rie Ishiguro, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Edmund Klamann)