Japan’s trade balance up 7.7% year-on-year

March 22, 2007
By Ken Worsley

Japan’s Ministry of Finance released their monthly provisional report on the nation’s trade balance this morning, which reported a 7.7% increase to 979.58 billion yen versus February of last year. The report showed a 9.7% increase in exports, led by strong data from the automotive and steel sectors. Automobile production has been on the rise for 15 consecutive months, and exports of total vehicles rose in January for the 18th straight month, according to the most recent data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Imports showed an increase of 10.1% against last year’s figures, with surges in imports of telecommunications equipment (+174.9%) and clothing (+48.7%).

Not surprisingly, the United States remains Japan’s largest export market, and goods headed to the US posted a 7% gain, led by a 15.4% increase in new car shipments. Exports to the European Union area increased 16.6%, with new car shipments having risen 25.7%.

China continues to be Japan’s largest source for imports, with shipments from China increasing by 44.8%. Japan holds a 308 billion yen trade deficit with China. After China, the only other nations with which Japan carries trade deficits greater than 100 billion yen are: The United Arab Emirates (221.7 billion yen), Saudi Arabia (202 billion yen), Indonesia (152.2 billion yen) and Australia (140.7 billion yen).

Filed Under Economic Reports, Economics, Export & Import