Tokyo, Mar 26: Japan’s trade surplus rose more than expected in February as China and other Asian countries bought more Japanese electronic and digital products, a positive sign for the export-led economic recovery. The surplus soared 51.7% from a year earlier to 1.4 trillion yen ($13.2bn), government data showed on Thursday. It was the highest since December 1998 and beat analysts’ expectations of a 1.2 trillion yen surplus. Trade with China showed a surplus of 13.7bn yen, the first surplus since March 1994. “This was significantly above expectations, with exports stronger and imports weaker than what I had been expecting,” said Peter Morgan, a senior economist at HSBC Securities.
“I think this is essentially an export-driven recovery and it is good news for the strength of exports. This should be both positive for stocks and for the yen.”
On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports fell 1.4% from a month earlier, while imports fell 6%, yielding a 14.6% rise in the surplus on the month to 1.2 trillion yen.
Exports have led the Japanese economy out of a decade-long slump. Domestic sectors have picked up lately, but are still lagging exports.
Bureau Report