Japan trade balance for March: Y 528.5bn (expected Y 363.2bn)

March 2019 trade balance from Japan, exports held down by trade wars

Trade balance: Y 528.5bn

• expected Y 363.2bn, prior was Y 334.9bn

Trade balance (adjusted): Y -177.8bn

• expected Y -242.5bn, prior was Y 116.1bn

Exports -2.4% y/y:, not quite as bad as expected

• expected -2.6%, prior was -1.2%

Imports +1.1% y/y, a miss

• expected 2.8%, prior was -6.7%

Yen unresponsive. What else is new?

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Background here:

• Japan trade data coming up soon - exports at risk of falling short of expectations (again)