Japan's trade surplus reaches 5-year high

Japan’s trade surplus reaches 5-year high

Japan's Ministry of Finance disclosed that the country's trade surplus rose to its highest level in the last five years during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 as exports to Asia increased and greater China replaced the US as Japan's biggest trading partner. Japan's trade surplus rose 1.3% year on year to Yen 11.35 trillion (around $107 billion) in the fiscal year. Despite the strong figure, certain economists are concerned that the trade surplus growth could be damped by the prolonged inventory adjustments in the information technology sector, rising commodity prices and growing uncertainty over continued economic growth in China and the US. Japan's exports to China rose 16.1% to Yen 8.09 trillion during the fiscal year while country's imports from China surged 17.9% to Yen 10.6 trillion. Increased trade with China boosted Japan's exports to Asia by 13.6% year on year to Yen 29.96 trillion in the last fiscal while imports to Japan from Asian countries jumped 13.5% to Yen 22.9 trillion. On the other hand, Japan's trade surplus shrank 0.2% year on year to Yen 1.12 trillion in March 2005. Exports in March gained 6.2% to Yen 5.78 trillion, while imports increased 7.8% to Yen 4.66 trillion, the ministry said.