Japan's trade surplus last month rose 8.8 percent as exports hit a record high on strong demand for ships, automobiles and steel even as export growth overall slowed, official figures showed yesterday.
The slowdown in export growth does cause concern that Japan's export-led recovery may not be sustainable but analysts expressed confidence that Chinese demand for Japanese goods would remain strong enough to cushion any decline.
At the same time, they said there appears to be no immediate sign that the recent weakening of the dollar, which undercuts the competitive position of Japanese exports, is beginning to hurt shipments overseas.
Japan's trade surplus totalled ?1.16 trillion (US$11.3 billion) last month, posting the 15th increase in 16 months, the finance ministry said. Economists had expected a trade surplus of some ?1.08 trillion.
Exports rose 11.8 percent to ?5.48 trillion, while imports expanded 12.6 percent to ?4.31 trillion on higher crude oil and coal imports.
In September, the trade surplus rose 12.4 percent from a year earlier, as exports grew 12.4 percent and imports increased 12.5 percent.
"Exports remained firm [in October] although their growth rate is dropping," said Toshio Sumitani, economist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
"Exports are likely to slow in the months to come, resulting in a smaller trade surplus," Sumitani said, while stressing that any decline in the surplus would be gradual as China takes up the slack.
"The Chinese economy is not slowing as much as anticipated. As long as Chinese demand is strong, a slowdown in exports may be minor."
Japan's trade surplus with Asia rose 31.7 percent to ?692.3 billion, with exports up 12.6 percent to ?2.63 trillion and as imports grew 7.1 percent to ?1.93 trillion.
The trade surplus with the US fell 1.2 percent to ?613.6 billion as exports rose 3.4 percent to ?1.23 trillion and imports increased 8.4 percent to ?620.4 billion.
The surplus with the EU grew 21.6 percent to ?332.8 billion. EU-bound exports gained 10.8 percent to ?847.8 billion, while imports rose 4.8 percent to ?514.9 billion.
Juichi Wako, an economist at Nomura Securities Financial Research Institute, said "the October figures came as no surprise. Imports rose due to higher oil prices but exports stood at a record high for a single month.
"They remain firm ... [and] not as bad as initially expected," Wako said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2