Japan Exports up for first time in 15 months

Japanese exports for the month of December climbed by 5.4% at 6,679,021 units for the first time in 15 months, while its imports were down by 2.6% year-on-year. The exports data released were better than what was expected for the month, which was at 1.2%.

For the past 15 months, Japan has experienced continuous declines on its exports data, with a 0.4% fall just from November.

In the Asian region, exports were 12% higher, up by 17.4% in the Oceania, 4.4% increase in C&E Euro, and 1.2% climb in North America. Meanwhile, exports were down by 7.5% in Middle South America area, 2.5% fall in Western Europe, 4% decline in the European Union, and a 24.6% decline from Middle East.

Meanwhile, Japan’s trade surplus with the United States was down by 4.6% to ¥6.83 trillion ($60 billion), while exports declined by 7.1% ¥14.14 trillion and imports fell by 9.3% to ¥7.36 trillion.

“Global demand is firming up as emerging markets in Asia are catching up with a recovery in advanced economies. If debate on protectionism leads to an unwelcome rise in the yen, that would dampen the momentum towards a pickup in Japan’s exports though,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

Most of the boost which led to a stronger and better month came from strong sales of electronics and car parts. This indicates that Japan’s economy is still performing well even with the TPP ahead and could affect the trade between the US and Asian countries.

Despite the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by US President Donald Trump, wherein he officially withdrew the United States from the trade deal between America and Asian countries, Japan’s economy still proves to be growing continuously.

The better exports data will further aid Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his efforts to improve the country’s economy, improving corporate profits, and wage gains.

Upon the signing of Trump to pull out US from the TPP, Asian countries will now have harder access to trading in America. The trade barrier will mean uncertainty over Asian relations with the US. However, Trump sign the executive order aiming particular on China.

Following the release of the date from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, Japanese yen traded higher against the US dollar at ¥113.73, a decline of 0.05% for the dollar, although the dollar index was still up by 0.08% at 100.35.

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