Strong growth in the Japanese economy helped crude oil prices recover from an early-week slump with major indices gaining more than 1 percent early Wednesday. Japan’s Cabinet Office reported real gross domestic product grew by 2.4 percent from January through March, an improvement over the revised 1.1 percent reported from October through December. Japan, the world’s third largest economy, announced in February it exited two quarters of consecutive recession. Gross domestic product during fourth quarter grew by 2.2 percent, but the pace was subdued by a decrease in consumer spending. The price for Brent crude oil, which suffered heavy losses in Tuesday trading, gained 1.3 percent from the previous close to fetch $64.87 per barrel early in the Wednesday […]