Japan exports weak but show signs of recovery
Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:45am EDT
* Japan exports, imports rose in March from February
* First monthly rise in exports in nearly a year
* Exports still around half levels of a year ago
* Annual decline in Japan's exports to China starts to slow (Adds sector details)
By Leika Kihara
TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - Japanese exports showed a rare sign of recovery in March, government figures showed on Wednesday, suggesting that the global slump in trade that has pushed the economy into a deep recession may be easing.
Exports were almost half the levels of a year earlier but on a seasonally adjusted basis they rose in March from February, the first monthly pick up since May last year -- welcome news for the world's No. 2 economy battling its worst downturn in half a century.
Sales to China and the United States fell sharply compared with a year earlier, but the falls were smaller than in February. Still, exports to the European Union fell at a record pace.
The annual decline in semiconductor and other electronics parts sales eased slightly in March from February, but autos demand plunged again.
"It will take more time for exports to make a full-fledged rebound as overseas economies won't recover any time soon," said Takahide Kiuchi, chief economist at Nomura Securities.
"But we expect exports to make a moderate pickup near-term with sharp falls having stopped due to easing strains from the global financial shock, falling inventories and big stimulus packages compiled across the globe."
Exports fell 45.6 percent from a year earlier and imports dropped 36.7 percent. Both declines were smaller than forecast and smaller than the record falls in February.
That produced a trade surplus of 11 billion yen ($111.9 million), down 99 percent from a year earlier. Economists had forecasts a 5 billion yen deficit. [JPTBAL=ECI]
Japan's big manufacturers have been hit hard by the worst global downturn since the 1930s. But they expect output to rise in March and April after slashing inventories at a record pace.
Global stock markets have rallied on hopes the world-wide downturn may be nearing its bottom. Tokyo's Nikkei average .N225 has gained nearly 24 percent since hitting a 26-year closing low in March. Continued...
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