— Japan Oct 1st 20-Day Exports -5.1% Y/Y Vs Sep -10.3%
— Japan Oct 1st 20-Day Imports -5.7% Y/Y Vs Sep +4.1%
— Japan Oct 1st 20-Day Trade Deficit Y308.42 Bln; Sep -Y561.73 Bln
TOKYO (MNI) – Hit by the global slowdown, Japan’s exports dropped
in the first 20 days of October from a year earlier, data released by
the Ministry of Finance showed on Thursday.
Exports in the first 20 days of last month came to Y3.299 trillion,
down 5.1% from a year before, following a 10.3% fall in exports in the
whole of September this year.
Imports fell 5.7% y/y to Y3.608 trillion in the first 20 days of
October, following a 4.1% rise in the previous month.
As a result, Japan’s trade balance for the first 20 days of October
posted a deficit of Y308.42 billion, compared with a deficit of Y348.30
billion in the first 20 days of October 2011.
In the first 20 days of October, the fall in exports was led
automobiles, steel products and ships while imports of crude oil, coal
and non-ferrous metals decreased, according to the MOF.
Norio Miyagawa, senior economist at Mizuho Securities Research &
Consulting, said slower growth in China, the largest market for Japanese
products, are hurting exports for the whole of October.
He forecast that Japan’s October trade data, due on Nov. 22, will
show a deficit worth Y300 billion to Y400 billion, which would be a
fourth straight month of a shortfall, after a dedicit of Y561.73 billion
in September.
–email: skodama@mni-news.com
–email: msato@mni-news.com
[TOPICS: MAJDS$,M$A$$$,M$J$$$]
