"The yen's weakness has been supporting Japan's exports"
-Long Hanhua Wang
Japan posted the ninth consecutive monthly trade deficit of 362.4 billion yen ($3.69 billion) in March, as weak Yen pushed up import prices, whereas declines in the nation's currency made exported products more competitive in foreign markets. According to the Finance Ministry data released Thursday, after shrinking by 2.9% in February, overseas shipments increased 1.1% to 6.27 trillion yen ($63.9 billion) from the previous year, narrowing trade gap more than economists estimated. However, a decrease in shipments to China and the European Union indicated the likely limited gains in export this year.
Better-than-estimated trade data add to optimism for Japan's economy pick-up as the central bank Governor Haruhiko Kuroda implemented unprecedented monetary easing measures to boost growth in the world's third largest economy.
"The yen's weakness has been supporting Japan's exports," said Long Hanhua Wang, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Tokyo. "We are yet to see any signs that Japan's exports are set for a full-fledged rebound."
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