Japan: Yen-denominated merchandise exports accelerate in February
Yen-denominated merchandise exports climbed 6.5% year-on-year in February (January: +3.5% year-on-year). Meanwhile, merchandise imports climbed 8.3% on an annual basis in February (January: +17.5% yoy), marking the weakest reading since March 2021.
As a result, the merchandise trade deficit declined to JPY 0.9 trillion in February (January: JPY 3.5 trillion; February 2022: JPY 0.7 trillion).
According to an estimate by Nomura, February’s print mean that real exports in January-February fell 3.3% in seasonally adjusted terms compared to Q4, boding poorly for the external sector.