JPY: Merchandise trade surplus widens to $427bn in April – Deutsche Bank

Research Team at Deutsche Bank, notes that Japan’s customs trade for April revealed a further rise in the seasonally-adjusted trade surplus to JPY426.6bn, up from March’s JPY295.3bn.

Key Quotes

“But with declines in both export volumes (-1.4% mom vs. 1.5% in March) and import volumes (-2.9% mom vs. 0.1% in March). The underlying trend in export volumes remained roughly flat. By destination, export volumes rose 0.4% mom to the US but shrank 4.8% mom to the EU and 1.0% mom to Asia (-0.6%).

The trade surplus, excluding mineral fuel imports, has been stable since 2013 (JPY1.27trn in April). A large part of the improvement in the trade balance since 2014 is due mainly to the falling oil prices. The import volumes of crude oil dropped -30.1% mom in April, following a 12.4% mom surge in March.”