Japan exports rose 9.3 percent year-on-year in December

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

Japan Ministry of Finance reported a 9.3 percent year-on-year rise in exports in December, underscoring a steady growth in external demand. Markets were expecting export growth of 12.3 percent. Also, as per MOF, December exports amount was the biggest since September 2008.

Meanwhile, imports rose 14.9 percent, beating the estimate of 12.3 percent. Therefore, the trade surprlus came-in at JPY 359 billion vs. JPY 530 billion expected and JPY 113.4 billion previous.

A sustained recovery in Japanese exports throughout 2014 highlights strong demand in globel economy and also questions the need to maintain negative interest rate policy.

Key points (Source: Bloomberg)

Japan’s adjusted trade balance showed surplus of 86.8 billion yen (forecast 276.7 billion yen).
Exports to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, rose 15.8 percent from a year earlier.
Shipments to the U.S. increased 3 percent.
Shipments to the EU rose 11.4 percent.

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.

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