Japan Jan exports rise 1.3% y-o-y

[TOKYO] Japan's exports rose 1.3 per cent in January from a year earlier, government data showed on Monday, a slowdown from the previous month due to a decline in US exports and the Chinese New Year holidays.

The rise was less than a 4.7 per cent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. It followed a 5.4 per cent year-on-year rise in December.

Imports rose 8.5 per cent, versus the median estimate for a 4.7 per cent increase.

The trade balance came to a deficit of 1.09 trillion yen (S$13.7 billion), versus the median estimate for a 636.8 billion yen deficit.

REUTERS