Japan’s Trade Surplus Hits 1B in August

Japan posted a goods trade surplus of 113.64 billion yen ($1.02 billion) in August, boosted by a surge in U.S.-bound exports of cars and auto parts, government data showed Wednesday.

Exports soared 18.1 percent from a year ago, the fastest pace since November 2013, to 6.28 trillion yen, as shipments of electronic parts also increased. Imports gained 15.2 percent to 6.16 trillion yen amid growth in energy imports in value terms.

The total figure marked a turnaround from a year ago when Japan had a trade deficit of 34.62 billion yen, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry.

Japan’s trade surplus with the United States expanded to 534.70 billion yen after exports gained 21.8 percent to 1.18 trillion yen and imports rose 5.7 percent to 648.75 billion yen.

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken issue with his country’s massive trade deficits with major exporters such as China and Japan.

“The fundamentals (of the global economy) remain good despite uncertainty over U.S. policy and geopolitical risks,” said Yuichiro Nagai, an economist at Barclays Securities Japan Ltd.

via Mainichi

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