Tokyo - Japan on Thursday confirmed its worst economic performance in nearly 35 years in the fourth quarter of 2008 and China unveiled more grim statistics, as a brief rally on Asian stock markets came to a halt.
Australian unemployment also hit a four-year high and New Zealand slashed its key interest rate to a record low as the effects of the global economic crisis spread across the region.
The bad news came as US President Barack Obama urged governments to coordinate their efforts to battle the worldwide downturn, ahead of a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of 20 nations in Britain on Saturday.
Japan, the world's second largest economy, shrank 3.2% in the three months to December - 12.1% an an annualised basis - as demand dived for its cars, high-tech goods and other exports.
The revised figure was slightly better than the initial estimate of a 12.7% annualised drop, but it was still the worst quarter since early 1974.
"Exports fell off a cliff in the fourth quarter," said David Cohen, director of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore.
In 2009 the economy is likely to shrink 5.7%, "which would be the worst year since the Second World War," said Cohen.
US, China to work together
China meanwhile said its industrial output had slowed dramatically, the latest in a series of bleak data which indicate the world's third largest country is being hard hit by the slowdown.
The export-dependent Asian giant said factory production grew 3.8% year-on-year in January and February, compared with 15.4% growth for the same period in 2008.
China, whose lightning growth in recent years has hinged on strong foreign demand for its products, has already announced a 25% drop in exports this week and said consumer prices fell for the first time since 2002.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the United States and China should work together at the G20 meeting to ensure that it leads to "concrete action steps" aimed at stabilising the world economy.
The G20 includes the Group of Seven rich nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - the European Union and leading developing nations including China, India, South Korea and Indonesia.
Recession was looking increasingly likely in Australia, which has so far escaped the worst of the crisis, as unemployment hit a worse-than-expected 5.2% - the highest since September 2004.
South Korea freezes rates
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the figures showed the government was right to press ahead with last month's $27.3bn stimulus package to help offset the slump.
"Had we waited and done nothing, instead of acting decisively, these unemployment figures would be much worse," Rudd said.
Australia recorded its first quarter of negative growth in eight years during the final three months of 2008. Many analysts say it is probably already in recession, usually defined as two successive quarters of negative growth.
The outlook in neighbouring New Zealand also looked gloomy as officials cut the official cash rate by half a percentage point to 3.0%, the lowest since it was introduced in 1999.
Economists said Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Alan Bollard's expectations that the recession could be at its worst in mid-2009 might be too optimistic.
South Korea also froze its key interest rate at 2.0%, ending a run of six consecutive cuts in an apparent bid to bolster the weakening won and keep inflation in check.
The rate freeze came despite concerns that Asia's fourth-largest economy is on the brink of its first recession for 11 years, as exports slump and domestic demand remains sluggish.
On Asia's major markets, hopes faded of a sustained rally as Tokyo closed down 2.41% and Hong Kong ended the morning session 0.5% lower. Sydney closed down 0.3%.
- AFP