Japan's trade surplus expands due to increased exports to Asia

Japan’s trade surplus expands due to increased exports to Asia

The Ministry of Finance said that Japan's merchandise trade surplus reached Yen 1.24 trillion (approx. $11.5 billion) in September with a rise of 12.7% from a year earlier due to robust growth in exports to Asia. Year-on-year exports rose by 12.55% to Yen 5.5 trillion on the back of rising exports of scientific/optical equipment and steel products. Imports were recorded as Yen 4.2 trillion with a rise of 12.4%. However, when compared with the previous month, trade surplus recorded a decline of 21.8%. The trade surplus with Asia rose by 37.6% year-on-year to Yen 670.3 billion as exports of scientific/optical equipment soared by 40.4% and steel exports were also up by 22.7%. Exports to Asia amounted to Yen 2.66 trillion, up by 19.3% while imports from Asia were registered as yen 1.99 trillion with a rise of 14.2%. In September, export to the US rose by 5.5% to Yen 1.23 trillion while imports from the US fell by 0.2% to Yen 551.8 billion. Accordingly, the trade surplus was recorded as Yen 682 billion, indicating an increase of 10.6%.