This was the third straight month of shortfall in Japan
Exports fell 5.2% from a year earlier to JPY 6.37 trillion in September
Lower sales were recorded in transport equipment
Japan unexpectedly posted a trade deficit of JPY 123 billion deficit in September 2019, shifting from a JPY 124.1 billion surplus in the same month a year earlier and missing market expectations of a JPY 54 billion surplus.
This was the third straight month of shortfall, as exports slumped 5.2%, falling for the tenth month in a row, while imports decreased at a softer 1.5%, the fifth consecutive month of drop.
Exports fell 5.2% from a year earlier to JPY 6.37 trillion in September, compared to market forecasts of a 4.0% decline and August's 8.2% decrease. It was the tenth straight month of declines in shipments, amid weakening global demand and the US-China trade dispute.
Lower sales were recorded in transport equipment (-2.7%), mainly due to motor vehicles (-1.8%), cars (-1.9%), parts of motor vehicles (-14.7%), and motorcycles and autocycles (-10.3%); machinery (-11.2%), namely metal working machinery (-17.9%), power generating machines (-13.1%), computers and units (-11.9%), and parts of computer (-13.3%); electrical machinery (-4.7%), in particular audio and visual apparatus (-11.9%), video recorder or repro apparatus (-14.8%), parts of video and visual apparatus (-15.1%).
Lower sales were also recorded in telephony, telegraphy (-27.3%) and electrical measuring (-6.8%), electrical apparatus (-12.8%), and batteries and accumulators (-3.5%) .
Also, sales dropped for manufactured goods (-3.8%), of which iron and steel products (-0.4%), non-ferrous metals (-2.7%) manufactures of metals (-9.0%), rubber (-5.7%), non-metallic mineral ware (-6.3%), paper and paper manufactured (-14.5%), and textile yarn fabrics (-1.1%); chemicals (-2.1%), including organic chemicals (-7.3%); and mineral fuels (-16.9%).
Among main trade partners, exports went down to China (-6.7%), South Korea (-15.9%), Hong Kong (-10.3%), Singapore (-11.4%), Thailand (-14.4%), the US (-7.9%) and Australia (-8.4%), but rose to the Middle East (8.5%), in particular the UAE (11.4%), Saudi Arabia (29.2%) and Western Europe (3.4%), mostly Switzerland (156.8%).
Imports dropped 1.5% to JPY 6.49 trillion, the fifth consecutive month of decline, compared to expectations of a 2.8% fall and after a downwardly revised 11.9% tumble in the previous month.
Purchases of mineral fuels slipped 19.0%, in particular petroleum (-16.1%), petroleum products (-35.5%), LNG (-11.7%), LPG (-43.8%), and coal (-19.8%). In addition, imports went down for manufactured goods (-1.4%), namely iron and steel products (-7%), nonferrous metals (-9.7%), and wood and cork manufactured (-6.6%).
Also, imports dropped for transport equipment (-1.3%), of which motor vehicles (-3.1%) and parts of motor vehicles (-7.6%).
By contrast, purchases rose for: electrical machinery (3.9%), namely semiconductors (5.9%) and IC (6.2%); machinery (1.1%), of which power generating machines (0.3%), computers and units (19.8%), and parts of computer (28.0%); foodstuff (5.1%), namely meat (9.3%), cereals (2.6%) and vegetables (2.7%).
Also, acquisitions increased for chemicals (9.0%), due to medical products (44.2%); and raw materials (2.9%), mainly iron ore and concentrates (24.4%).
Imports dropped from China (-1.0%), Hong Kong (-4.8%), South Korea (-8.9%), the US (-11.6%), and the Middle East (-13.6%), namely Saudi Arabia (-21.9%) and Oman (-26.8%).
Conversely, imports went up from Taiwan (9.0%, Thailand (11.4%) and Western Europe (12.4%), mainly Germany (9.8%) and the UK (13.3%). ■