Japan extends record run of export declines on US, China weakness – By Al Jazeera and News Agencies (Al Jazeera) / Dec 16 2020
Exports fell in again November, a likely source of concern for Japanese policymakers counting on an overseas recovery.
Japan’s exports fell in November, dashing expectations for an end to the two-year run of declines, largely due to weaker shipments bound for the United States and China, and suggesting a slower pace of recovery for the world’s third-largest economy.
The trade data is likely to be of some concern for policymakers counting on solid external demand to boost factory output and broader corporate activity to revive the economy.
“The risk that Japan’s economy will stall in the first quarter is gradually becoming stronger,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
“It feels like Japan’s economic recovery is somewhat behind that in China and the United States and European countries given the exports trend and state of domestic demand.”
Ministry of Finance (MOF) data released on Wednesday showed exports fell by 4.2 percent in November from a year earlier, defying economists’ median estimate of a 0.5 percent increase in a Reuters poll.
