Japan March exports fall 6.8% y-o-y: MOF

[TOKYO] Japan's exports fell 6.8 per cent in March from a year earlier, down for the sixth straight month, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, as a slowdown in China and emerging markets hurts external demand.

The fall compares with a 6.9 per cent decrease expected by economists in a Reuters poll. It followed a 4.0 per cent drop in February.

Imports fell 14.9 per cent in March, versus the median estimate for a 16.2 per cent decrease from the year earlier.

The trade balance came to a surplus of 755 billion yen (S$9.24 billion), versus the median estimate for a surplus of 834.6 billion yen.

REUTERS