Preliminary data released Wednesday showed that Japan’s total imports increased 1.3% year-on-year in November, resulting in a trade surplus of 322.2 billion yen (approximately $2.1 billion), News.Az reports, citing AP.
Exports to the U.S. grew nearly 9% from the same period last year, supported by shipments of cars, chemicals, and cameras, which offset declines in machinery and iron and steel.
Meanwhile, imports from the U.S. nearly tripled for oil, alongside significant increases in grain and other food products.
Japan's exports to the European Union surged about 20% last month from a year earlier, supported by growth in demand for machinery, vehicles and other manufactured goods.
But tensions with Beijing after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi commented on defense of Taiwan took a toll, with exports to China falling 2.4% on weaker shipments of chemicals, machinery and vehicles.
Despite a nascent recovery in trade with the U.S., its largest trading partner, higher tariffs are likely to continue to weigh on exports, Norihiro Yamaguchi of Oxford Economics said in a report.
Still, he forecast that Japan’s exports will likely improve in the coming year.
“Spillovers from robust U.S. AI-related spending will likely support exports as well,” Yamaguchi said.
