— Adds FY09 Figures From 17th Paragraph
— Japan Posts Trade Surplus For 12 Months In Row
— Japan Mar Exports +43.5% Y/Y, Up 4 Months In Row
— Japan Mar Imports +20.7% Y/Y, Up 3 Months In Row
— Japan Mar Exports To US +29.5% Y/Y, Up 3 Months In Row
— Japan Mar Exports To EU +26.7% Y/Y, Up 4 Months In Row
— Japan Mar Exports To Asia +52.9% Y/Y, Up 5 Months In Row
— Japan FY09 Trade Surplus Y5.23 Trln, 1st Surplus In 2 Years
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s trade surplus stood at Y948.91 billion in
March as exports posted the fourth straight year-on-year rise on
recovering global demand for Japanese cars and semiconductors, Ministry
of Finance data released on Thursday showed.
Japan posted the 12th consecutive month of a trade surplus
following a downwardly revised surplus of Y649.55 billion in February
(preliminary +Y650.98 billion). In March 2009, Japan posted a trade
deficit of Y5.41 billion.
The March figure came in slightly weaker than the consensus call
for a surplus of Y1.003 trillion.
The latest data showed that Japanese exports soared 43.5% in March
from a year earlier to Y6.0 trillion, the fourth straight year-on-year
gain.
The March gain followed +45.3% in February, +40.9% in January and
+12.0% in December, improving sharply from the record 49.4% slump marked
in February 2009.
In March, shipments of automobiles, auto parts and semiconductors
surged from a year earlier, when demand for Japanese cars and
electronics was still depressed amid the global financial crisis and
recession.
Imports rose 20.7% on the year to Y5.06 trillion in March, posting
the third consecutive y/y rise after +29.5% in February, +8.9% in
January and -5.5% in December,and recovering from the record 42.7% drop
in February 2009.
The value of imports of petroleum, non-ferrous metals and
semiconductors rose sharply while imports of coal and clothing fell.
Exports to the United States rose 29.5% from a year earlier to
Y862.5 billion, up for the third consecutive month, following +50.5% in
February and +24.2% in January and recovering from the record 58.4% drop
in February 2009.
Automobiles, auto parts and power generating machines led the
gain in U.S. exports.
Shipments to the European Union rose 26.7% to Y653.6 billion,
posting the fourth straight year-on-year gain. The pace of growth
accelerated from +19.7% in February, +11.2% in January and +1.4% in
December. EU exports have recovered from the record 56.1% drop marked in
March 2009.
Automobiles, auto parts and computer parts led the recovery in
exports to Europe.
Japan’s exports to Asia soared 52.9% to Y3.38 trillion in March,
marking the fifth consecutive month of y/y gains. The pace of growth
slowed from +55.7% in February, +68.3% in January and +31.1% in
December. Asian exports have recovered from the record 46.7% decline
marked in January 2009.
Higher shipments of semiconductors, automobiles and auto parts led
Japanese exports to Asia.
Exports to China, the largest market for Japanese goods, expanded
47.7% to Y1.17 trillion in March, showing the fifth consecutive y/y rise
after +47.6% in February, +80.0% in January and +42.7% in December.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Japan’s trade surplus posted a
surplus of Y666.2 billion in March, up 41.2 from the previous month.
Seasonally adjusted exports were unchanged from the previous month while
imports fell 3.7%.
For the whole of fiscal 2009 that ended on March 31, Japan posted a
trade surplus of Y5.23 trillion as sharp drops in import prices of crude
oil, liquefied natural gas and coal more than offset the plunge in
exports of automobiles, steel and mineral fuels.
It was the first surplus in two years after a deficit of a revised
Y764.85 billion in fiscal 2008.
The surplus in fiscal 2009 was still below the trend level. In
fiscal 2007, Japan’s trade surplus stood at Y10.16 trillion, up 12.7%
from Y9.01 trillion in fiscal 2006.
In fiscal 2009, exports totaled Y59.01 trillion, down 17.1% from a
year earlier, which was actually sharper than the 16.4% drop in the
previous year. But imports plunged more than exports, down 25.2% at
Y53.78 trillion in fiscal 2009 (vs. -4.1% in fiscal 2008), leading the
balance to a surplus.
The data showed that exports clearly recovered in the second half
of fiscal 2009 (October-March), up 12.3% year on year after slumping
36.4% int the first half (April-September). The decline in imports
slowed in the fiscal second half to -4.7% from -39.7% in the first half.
Looking back, as the global economic and financial crisis deepened,
Japan’s trade surplus also declined in 2008 to Y458.72 bln (-49.2% y/y)
in April that year, Y341.11 bln (-13.8%) in May, Y104.10 bln (-91.6%) in
June and Y81.92 bln (-88.0%) in July and the balance slumped to a
deficit of Y314.23 bln in August 2008.
Japan’s trade balance returned to a surplus of Y90.97 bln (still
-94.3% y/y) in September 2008, but in the wake of the collapse of U.S.
investment bank Lehman Brothers it plunged into negative territory
again, posting deficits of Y75.21 bln in October, Y227.51 bln in
November and Y322.23 bln in December 2008 and a revised Y967.94 bln in
January 2009.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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