Japan's trade surplus up both monthly and annually

Japan’s trade surplus up both monthly and annually

The Japanese government said that Japan's trade surplus soared by 30.6% on a monthly basis in May to Yen 1.28 trillion (approx. $11.7 billion). Exports reached Yen 5.24 trillion with an increase of 7.3% while imports rose by 1.5% to Yen 3.96 trillion. When compared with the same period of last year, trade surplus surged by 35.5%. Year-on year basis, exports and imports climbed by 9.8% and 4.9% respectively. Japan's trade surplus indicates a steady growth due to strong exports of electronic products such as mobile phones, flat-screen TVs and DVDs and automobiles and auto products, to the US, Europe and especially China. Japan's trade deficit with China decreased by 21.5% to Yen 120.4 billion despite the measures taken by Chinese government to slowdown economy. Exports to China surged by 21.4% and imports from the country were also up by 11.7%. Japan's trade surplus with South Korea amounted to Yen 183.6 billion, indicating a rise of 41.7% while the trade surplus with Taiwan expanded by 36.8% to Yen 181.7 billion. Exports to the US declined by 7% year-on-year. The fall is attributed to the 13.1% drop in shipments of office equipment. Due to the decrease in the meat shipments, imports from US also declined by 8.7%. Country's exports to the EU and imports from there rose by 5.6% and 4.8% respectively.