I posted a preview a little earlier:

Japan December trade balance data due today - preview

This now via HSBC:

  • Japan's trade surplus fell sharply in November, as the rising cost of oil and smartphone imports outweighed strong exports of cars and steel.
  • However, we expect the December prints to be much muted, partly because of base effects.
  • While we are still optimistic on external demand, we think exports and imports grew by 10.2% y-o-y and 11.7%, respectively. These translate to a widening of the trade surplus to JPY610.5bn.