Japan’s exports fall for 12th consecutive month in September

Japan’s exports fall for 12th consecutive month in September

Japan’s Sept exports data indicated an improvement from August when they fell by as much as 9.6%.

The Dollar Business Bureau

Japan’s exports fell for the 12th consecutive month in September, dragged down by a weak growth in manufacturing, struggling with a stronger yen and less than normal global demand. 

The Japanese Ministry of Finance on Monday released September exports data that highlighted a 6.9% decline in the country’s outbound shipments from the year before. The September exports figure, however, indicated an improvement from August when they fell by as much as 9.6%.

Several domestic and international factors contributed to Japan’s slow exports performance such as declining exports of cars to the United States, shipments of electronic parts to China and export of steel.

Several Japanese analysts and economists hoped for a rebound in the country’s exports, which had shown a promising trend last month in almost two years. The exports fell the least since March this year while the shipment volume rose by 4.7%.

In another positive sign, Japanese manufacturing activity registered its fastest growth in nine months, with the Flash Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) escalating to 51.7 this month.

Imports, too, registered a 16.3% decline, resulting in a trade surplus of 498.3 billion yen ($4.8 billion).

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has taken several measures to revive Japan’s sluggish economy, which has hardly made any impact on the country’s economic revival barring a few months. The yen has continued to gain since the beginning of the new year; the global demand has shown little improvements, while the investors have shown little interest in investing in Japan’s unpredictable domestic market.

Japan’s exports to the US declined 8.7%, while those to the European Union rose 0.7%. The outbound shipments to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, nosedived as much as 10.6%. The overall shipments to Asia, responsible for over half of Japanese exports, declined 8.4%.

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Oct 25, 2016 12:00 IST