Monday, February 23, 2004
Japan trade surplus surges past forecasts on strong exports
Associated Press Tokyo, February 23
Japan's trade surplus in January raced past forecasts for its seventh straight month of expansion as strong exports to Asia fueled the world's second largest economy.
The merchandise trade surplus -- the measure of all goods exported minus those imported -- surged 393 per cent in January from a year earlier to ¥507.1 billion yen ($4.67 billion). It far outstripped the expectations of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and Nikkei News, who had estimated an increase of 19.6 per cent to ¥122.8 billion ($1.13 billion).
January's results showed strong demand for Japanese goods abroad despite a more than 10 per cent rise in the value of the Japanese yen since a year earlier. Exports increased 11.3 per cent while imports grew 0.8 per cent.
In particular, exports to Asia surged 20.8 per cent reflecting Tokyo's growing reliance on China and other Asian nations as a market for Japanese goods. Imports from the region were up 4.3 per cent.
During the same month, Japan's trade surplus with the United States grew 3.9 per cent in January, as a 13.1 per cent decline in imports helped offset a 5.4 per cent drop in exports.
Tokyo's surplus with the European Union expanded 25.1 per cent on a 11.2 per cent rise in exports. Imports also rose 6.6 per cent. The government announced last week that the Japanese economy grew at its fastest clip in more than 13 years in the last three months of 2003, largely due to strong exports.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.