Japan logs 2.4 trillion yen trade surplus in FY 2017

April 18, 2018

Tokyo- Japan posted a customs-cleared trade surplus of 2,455.9 billion yen in fiscal 2017, staying in the black for the second straight fiscal year, thanks to strong automobile exports, the Ministry of Finance said Wednesday.

But the figure for the year, which ended in March, was down 38.2 percent from the previous year, as the import bill was boosted by higher natural resources prices, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

In trade with the United States, Japan's surplus increased 5.7 percent to 6,999 billion yen, the first rise in two years.

Exports of sport-utility vehicles and other automobiles went up 5.7 percent, and shipments of aircraft engine parts were also robust. Meanwhile, liquefied petroleum gas imports almost doubled.

Trade between the two countries is likely to be a focal point of the ongoing summit meeting in Florida through Wednesday between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump, who is concerned about the US trade deficits, not only with China but also with Japan, analysts said.

Japan's overall exports in fiscal 2017 rose 10.8 percent to 79,221.9 billion yen, hitting the second-highest level on record after fiscal 2007, thanks to a surge in shipments of automobiles to the United States and the European Union and of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment to China and South Korea.

Exports to China and the whole of Asia both marked record highs.

Shipments to China increased for metalworking machines and equipment to manufacture liquid crystal display panels mainly for smartphones.

Japan's total imports expanded 13.6 percent to 76,766 billion yen on the back of a rise in international prices of crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

In March alone, Japan's trade surplus increased 32.1 percent from a year before to 797.3 billion yen, the second consecutive month of black ink, the ministry said. Jiji Press