Data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Thursday that exports rose 2.6% in April on an annual basis, a slower pace than experts expected in a Reuters poll, growth of 3.0%, and it is also lower than the rate recorded in March, which stood at 4.3%. The growth rate for April was the lowest since February 2021, when exports rose 4.5%.
Exports fell 4.2% in the January-March period, marking the first quarterly decline in a year and a half.
By destination, Japanese exports to China, the country’s biggest trading partner, fell 2.9% in April year-on-year, led by lower exports of automobiles and auto parts and steel. The decline came after a 7.7% decline in March, continuing the decline in such exports for the fifth consecutive month.
Imports also fell 2.3% in April, well below the median estimate of a 0.3% decline, the first year-on-year decline in 27 months, amid falling oil prices crude and other raw materials.
The trade balance deficit came in at 432.4 billion yen ($3.20 billion), while it was expected to hit 613.8 billion yen.
Yesterday, official data showed the Japanese economy growing in the first quarter of 2023 by 0.4% on a quarterly basis, growth that exceeded expectations and was partly achieved by the recovery of the tourism sector after the lifting of restrictions linked to the Covid pandemic.
Strong domestic demand offset weak exports, which fell 4.2% in the January-March period, marking the first drop in six quarters.
But growing signs of slowing growth in the United States, Europe and China are clouding the outlook for Japan’s export-dependent economy, adding to uncertainty over how quickly the Bank of Japan will end its massive stimulus program.
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