Japan’s exports climbed the most in seven months in September, supporting a rebound in the economy as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe weighs another sales-tax increase.
Overseas shipments rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, the finance ministry said in Tokyo today, compared with the median estimate for a 6.5 percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 27 economists. Imports grew 6.2 percent, leaving a trade deficit of 958.3 billion yen ($9 billion).
Stronger exports would support an economy that shrank the most in more than five years after Abe raised the sales tax in April for the first time since 1997. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has signaled support for yen declines, saying a weak currency that’s in line with the economy is a plus overall.
“This is positive news for the Bank of Japan,” said Junko Nishioka, chief Japan economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Tokyo and a former central bank official.
“Today’s data supports the BOJ’s view that exports are gradually picking up and that this will continue.”
The yen has fallen 8.3 percent against the dollar over the past year and had its biggest monthly drop in September since January 2013. The currency was at 107.02 per dollar at 9:33 a.m. in Tokyo.The Topix index of shares gained 2 percent.
iPhone Imports
Abe will consider the health of the economy in the third quarter in his decision due by the end of the year whether to proceed with an increase in the sales tax to 10 percent next October.
He raised the levy by 3 percentage points in April, as the government tries to curb the world’s heaviest debt burden. Cars, steel and ships were the largest contributors to the rise in exports, with the value of motor vehicle shipments up 7 percent on year, iron and steel products up 14 percent, and ships jumping almost 40 percent.
A 21 percent increase in liquid natural gas imports was the largest factor in the rising inbound shipments, followed by an almost 12 percent increase in telecommunications equipment. China accounted for 85 percent of these imports, with Apple Inc.’s new iPhones, which are produced there, going on sale in Japan in mid-September.
The economy’s rebound last quarter is probably not strong, partly due to the negative effects from bad weather, according to Economy Minister Akira Amari. The government cut its economic assessment for a second straight month yesterday, citing decreasing production.
The International Monetary Fund this month cut its 2015 outlook for global economic expansion to 3.8 percent from 4 percent. The fund said Japan would grow 0.8 percent next year, a cut from the July forecast.
bloomberg.com
Overseas shipments rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, the finance ministry said in Tokyo today, compared with the median estimate for a 6.5 percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 27 economists. Imports grew 6.2 percent, leaving a trade deficit of 958.3 billion yen ($9 billion).
Stronger exports would support an economy that shrank the most in more than five years after Abe raised the sales tax in April for the first time since 1997. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has signaled support for yen declines, saying a weak currency that’s in line with the economy is a plus overall.
“This is positive news for the Bank of Japan,” said Junko Nishioka, chief Japan economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Tokyo and a former central bank official.
“Today’s data supports the BOJ’s view that exports are gradually picking up and that this will continue.”
The yen has fallen 8.3 percent against the dollar over the past year and had its biggest monthly drop in September since January 2013. The currency was at 107.02 per dollar at 9:33 a.m. in Tokyo.The Topix index of shares gained 2 percent.
iPhone Imports
Abe will consider the health of the economy in the third quarter in his decision due by the end of the year whether to proceed with an increase in the sales tax to 10 percent next October.
He raised the levy by 3 percentage points in April, as the government tries to curb the world’s heaviest debt burden. Cars, steel and ships were the largest contributors to the rise in exports, with the value of motor vehicle shipments up 7 percent on year, iron and steel products up 14 percent, and ships jumping almost 40 percent.
A 21 percent increase in liquid natural gas imports was the largest factor in the rising inbound shipments, followed by an almost 12 percent increase in telecommunications equipment. China accounted for 85 percent of these imports, with Apple Inc.’s new iPhones, which are produced there, going on sale in Japan in mid-September.
The economy’s rebound last quarter is probably not strong, partly due to the negative effects from bad weather, according to Economy Minister Akira Amari. The government cut its economic assessment for a second straight month yesterday, citing decreasing production.
The International Monetary Fund this month cut its 2015 outlook for global economic expansion to 3.8 percent from 4 percent. The fund said Japan would grow 0.8 percent next year, a cut from the July forecast.
bloomberg.com
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