Japan exports jump 11.7% in March

Japan’s exports rose 11.7% in March from a year earlier, topping forecasts and extending the country’s export growth streak to seven straight months. (cnbc.com) Japan’s Ministry of Finance released the provisional data on April 22, showing exports climbed faster than the 11.0% median forecast from economists surveyed by Reuters. (customs.go.jp) (cnbc.com) Total exports reached a record ¥11.0033 trillion in March, up from February’s 4.0% increase. Shipments to China rose 17.7%, while exports to the United States increased 3.4%. (tradingeconomics.com) (cnbc.com) The strongest product gains came from electrical machinery, up 21.5%, and machinery, up 7.1%, with semiconductor-related equipment and chips driving much of the increase. (tradingeconomics.com 1) (tradingeconomics.com 2) Imports also rose, climbing 10.9% in March against a 7.1% market forecast. That left Japan with a trade surplus of ¥667 billion, below the roughly ¥1.1 trillion surplus economists had expected. (cnbc.com) The numbers landed as Japan’s economy showed uneven momentum. Export demand and business investment have held up, but higher energy costs are pushing up import bills in a country that relies heavily on overseas fuel. (cnbc.com) That energy risk has become more visible because the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted Gulf shipments and tightened supply chains for oil and petrochemical inputs. (cnbc.com) Reuters reported that shortages of naphtha, a petrochemical feedstock, had already pushed dozens of Japanese companies to halt some orders in recent weeks. (usnews.com) The Bank of Japan is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its next policy meeting, even as a weak yen and higher energy prices add to inflation pressure. (cnbc.com) For now, the March trade data show Japan’s exporters still benefiting from global demand for chips, machinery and cars, even as oil costs threaten to erode that support. (tradingeconomics.com) (cnbc.com)