Highlights-Japan Q1 GDP +0.8% qtr/qtr, +3.3% annualised

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TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Japan's economy grew 0.8 percent in the first three months of this year from the previous quarter, government data showed on Friday, against market expectations for a 0.6 percent rise.

That translated into an annualised increase of 3.3 percent, compared with a median market forecast of a 2.5 percent rise, marking the third straight quarter of expansion.

Following are key points of the the preliminary data for gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, with details from a briefing by a Cabinet Office official and comments by Japanese Economics Minister Hiroko Ota:

- Exports accounted for a lot of the growth, led by trade commission fees for trading houses, nonferrous metals, cars, special industrial machinery and maritime cargo shipments.

- Exports grew for the 12th straight quarter, marking the highest growth since January-March 2004 when it grew 5.0 percent.

- Private consumption, which accounts for some 55 percent of GDP, also helped the growth, marking the highest increase since the final quarter of 2006, on demand for fresh fish and processed maritime products, accommodation services, personal computers, cars and electricity charges.

- The official said improvements in household income conditions may have contributed to personal consumption, with compensation of employees on nominal terms showing the biggest year-on-year rise since July-September in 2006.

- Corporate capital spending, which has been a key driver of the economy, shrank for the first time in three quarters, due to falls in the electronic communications equipment, office service equipment and general industrial machinery sectors.