Japan logs trade surplus for 5th straight month

November 20, 2017

Tokyo- Japan's customs-cleared trade balance was in the black for the fifth straight month in October, with a surplus of 285.4 billion yen, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

The surplus, however, dropped 40.7 percent from a year earlier, as imports soared reflecting higher natural resources prices. The October result fell short of the median forecast of 330 billion yen in surplus among 20 think tanks polled by Jiji Press.

Exports rose 14 percent to 6,693.1 billion yen, up for the 11th consecutive month, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Shipments were robust for automobiles to Australia and chipmaking equipment to China.

Imports grew a faster 18.9 percent to 6,407.7 billion yen, up for 10 months in a row, due to rises in the prices of Saudi Arabian crude oil and Australian coal.

Japan's exports to mainland China jumped 26 percent to a record 1,354.1 billion yen, led by brisk shipments of machine tools to make semiconductors and liquid crystal displays for smartphones and tablet computers.

With imports from China expanding 14.3 percent to 1,619.8 billion yen, Japan incurred a deficit of 265.7 billion yen in trade with the country, compared with the year-before deficit of 342.7 billion yen. Japan's trade balance with China was in the red for the eighth straight month.

Japan's trade surplus with the United States increased 11.3 percent to 644.7 billion yen, up for the fourth straight month, at a time when the administration of US President Donald Trump has been frustrated at the bilateral trade imbalances.

Imports from the United States increased 3.1 percent to 637 billion yen on the back of a surge in imports of liquefied petroleum gas.

US-bound exports grew a bigger 7.1 percent to 1,281.7 billion yen, driven by increased shipments of excavators and aircraft engine parts. Jiji Press