Japanese Trade Surplus Decline in July as Exports Rise

The merchandise trade surplus in Japan reduced lower than the anticipated in July while the growth of exports and imports gained double-digit percentage. According to the Ministry of Finance, the trade balance came in at  ¥418.8 billion ($3.8 billion) last month, after the  ¥439.9 billion surplus in June. The country was able to maintain its trade surplus in five of the last six months.

Exports rose at annual rate of 13.4% in the previous month, after a 9.7% increase in June. On one side, imports grew by 16.3 earlier this year, next to 15.5% expansion a month before.

Tokyo reported that the trade surplus last month accounts to ¥337.4 billion ($3.07 billion) based on a seasonally adjusted basis, as the surplus prior that month is  ¥81.4 billion ($740.6 million), according to the official figures released.

The Japanese economy showed its highest level of economic growth in more than two years, despite the external demand decrease the GDP by 0.3 percentage point. This is considered significant as the economy tend to depend on exports to resume expansion. Japan’s economy increased by 1% versus the previous quarter and surge by 4% yearly. The development occurs every last six quarters which indicates the longest duration after 10 years. Moreover, exports from the world’s third largest economy are projected to continue its rise due to the momentum attained by the global economy. As imports also have the potential to boost because the domestic production mounted.