Japan March exports seen up for the fourth month

TOKYO: Japan’s exports were expected to rise for a fourth straight month in March thanks to solid global demand, while imports were seen likely to gain at their fastest in three years as oil prices rose, a Reuters poll found. Exports were seen likely to grow 6.7 per cent in March from a year earlier after they surged 11.3 per cent in February, the poll of 18 analysts showed. That gain was the most in more than two years and included a rebound from January’s Lunar New Year slowdown. A recovery in oil prices and a weak yen pushed Japan’s imports up 10.4 per cent from a year ago, the fastest increase since March 2014 when they rose an annual 18.2 per cent. This would result in trade surplus at 575.8 billion yen, a third straight month of surplus. “We see exports remaining on a rising trend on the back of global economic recovery,” said Yoshiki Shinke, Chief Economist at Dai-ichi Research Institute. “Exports for January-March likely surpassed that of the previous quarter.” — Reuters