Japan posts bigger-than-expected trade gap as energy imports jump - Reuters.com

gamagana.blogspot.com

Containers are seen at an industrial port in Yokohama, Japan, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

• Feb exports rise slower than expected
• Imports rise faster than expected
• Feb trade deficit 668.3 bln yen

TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - Japan reported a wider-than-expected trade deficit in February as an energy-driven surge in import costs caused by massive supply constraints added to vulnerabilities for the world's third-largest economy.

Exports rose slightly less than expected despite a rebound in China-bound shipments, in a worrying sign for an economy facing growing uncertainty from supply challenges and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Imports surged 34.0% in the year to February, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, above a median market forecast for a 28.0% gain in a Reuters poll.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

That outstripped a 19.1% year-on-year rise in exports in February, resulting in a 668.3 billion yen ($5.65 billion) trade deficit, which was bigger than the 112.6 billion yen shortfall expected in a Reuters poll.

February's deficit was, however, narrower than January's 2.19 trillion yen gap, which was the biggest in a single month in eight years.

The finance ministry said exports declined a seasonally adjusted 0.5% from the previous month, underscoring headwinds in outbound shipments. Imports rose a seasonally adjusted 2.7% month-on-month.

"Exports fell again in February, though they should rebound over the coming months provided the recent Omicron outbreak in China doesn't cause major supply chain disruptions to resurface," said Tom Learmouth, Japan economist at Capital Economics.

"Adding in the merchandise trade data for February, net trade could knock off as much as 1.0 percentage point from GDP (gross domestic product) growth this quarter as exports tread water but imports rise strongly."

By region, exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, expanded 25.8% in the 12 months to February on stronger semiconductor machinery shipments to the country, after posting a Lunar New Year-linked contraction in the prior month.

Exports to the United States, the world's largest economy, grew 16.0% in February, on stronger shipments of cars and semiconductor machinery.

The two biggest items contributing to the rise in imports were oil, including from United Arab Emirates, and liquefied natural gas, such as from Australia, the data showed.

The Reuters Tankan poll for March showed Japanese manufacturers feared a fresh surge in energy prices due to the Ukraine crisis, even as they reported the first improvement in their business confidence in three months. read more

Japan's economy rebounded less than initially estimated in the final quarter of 2021, the government said last week, on weaker growth in consumer and business spending. read more

The downgrade in fourth quarter growth was bad news for policymakers tasked with sustaining a fragile recovery as the Ukraine crisis clouds the outlook for the global economy.

($1 = 118.2800 yen)

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Sam Holmes

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Adblock test (Why?)

"trade" - Google News
March 16, 2022 at 08:07AM
https://ift.tt/vPTZHUL

Japan posts bigger-than-expected trade gap as energy imports jump - Reuters.com
"trade" - Google News
https://ift.tt/D6PnFBZ