TOKYO: Japan’s exports fell in April at the fastest pace in three months as a stronger yen, and slowdown in China and other emerging markets take their toll on the country’s shipments, boding ill for growth prospects for the quarter.
Exports fell 10.1 percent year on year in the month, according to Ministry of Finance data released yesterday, in line with a 10 percent annual drop forecast by economists in a Reuters poll but worse than a 6.8 percent drop in March.
It was the seventh straight month of declines and the biggest since 12.9 percent in January, when Japanese shipments to Asia slowed sharply ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
The decline was likely exaggerated by a drop in United States-bound car exports due to supply-chain disruptions caused by last month’s earthquakes in southern Japan, but a rising yen and weak global demand are clouding the outlook for the year.
“Drops in US-bound car exports were noise,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
“Asia and the global economy remain weak. On top of that, yen gains squeeze profits at exporters, causing wages and capital spending to weaken, which would hamper the ‘Abenomics’ aim of creating virtuous growth,” Minami said.
Imports fell 23.3 percent in April, worse than a 19 percent decline expected by economists and pointing not only to weak commodity prices but sluggish domestic demand.
