TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s trade surplus in December is expected to post
the second consecutive year-on-year drop after Ministry of Finance data
on Wednesday showed that the surplus in the first 20 days of the month
slumped by 71.4% to Y36.06 billion.
This will follow a 55.9% fall to Y161.12 billion in the November
trade surplus, which was the first y/y drop in three months.
In December 2009, exports posted a 12.0% gain, showing the first
y/y rise in 15 months, a sign the economy at the time had moved out of
the global recession triggered by the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.
During the first 20 days of December 2010, exports rose 9.6% y/y to
Y3.826 trillion while imports grew at a faster pace of 12.6% to Y3.790
trillion.
The rate of increase in exports was little changed from the 9.1%
rise in the whole of November, while import growth decelerated from the
14.2% gain in the month.
If exports and imports continued to grow at the same pace through
the end of December, they would each total Y5.932 trillion and Y5.482
trillion, which means the whole-month surplus would come to around Y450
billion, down around 17% from December 2009.
In the first 20 days of December, automobiles, iron and steel and
ships pushed up exports while coal, iron ore and non-ferrous metals
raised imports, according to the MOF.
During the same period, prices of imported crude oil averaged $85.6
a barrel, up 7.7% on year, or Y45,012 per kiloliter, up 1.9%, the MOF
said.
skodama@marketnews.com
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