Nancy, don't apologize...
Read this from Yahoo...
They don't know how to "point" decimals either...<g>
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Japan May trade surplus up 714.9 pct y/y
TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - Japan's customs-cleared trade surplus rose 714.9 percent in May from a year earlier to 619.2 billion yen ($5 billion), the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
Exports were up 8.8 percent from a year earlier at 4.15 trillion yen while imports were down 5.6 percent at 3.53 trillion yen.
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Japan's surplus with its largest trading partner, the United States, was up 33.7 percent year-on-year at 519.6 billion yen, the ministry said.
Steady shipments of Japanese cars and other big exports have been the strongest fuel in Japan's recovery from its third recession in a decade, but economists say the strength could be hard to sustain, especially if a U.S. recovery starts to sputter.
A key question has been whether an export-driven recovery in big manufacturers will spill into the broader economy, which was heavily damaged by a three-quarter-long recession last year, the deepest since World War Two.
Factoring in strength of exporters, the government in late May forecast a 5.1 percent surge in manufacturing output for May from April -- a figure may economists doubt will be achieved.
Consumer spending -- which makes up 55 percent of total gross domestic product -- remains stubbornly stagnant, although recent surveys suggest consumers are gradually becoming more confident, and employment is showing signs of stabilising.
Some manufacturers have shown expressed concern about Japan's dependency on external demand, especially as the yen's strength starts to make exports more expensive and the U.S. economy shows signs of wavering. ($1=123.88 Yen) |
