Japan’s exports rose at a faster-than-expected 12 percent pace in March, while imports jumped nearly 16 percent from a year earlier, the government said Thursday.
TOKYO – Japan’s exports rose at a faster-than-expected 12 percent pace in March, while imports jumped nearly 16 percent from a year earlier, the government said Thursday.
The data suggest relatively strong foreign demand could lift growth for the world’s No. 3 economy in this quarter, economists said.
While domestic demand has remained lackluster, exports have lifted industrial production in recent months. Japan posted its first trade surplus in six years in 2016 thanks to a rebound in exports late in the year, though uncertainties over U. S. policy under U. S. President Donald Trump and over China’s recovery persist.
The 7.23 trillion yen ($66 billion) in exports and 6.61 trillion yen ($60 billion) in imports resulted in a trade surplus of 614.7 billion yen ($5.6 billion) , down 17.5 percent from a year before.
A revival of demand in China helped push exports up 16.4 percent from the year before to 1.
