Japan Oct exports rise 9.6% y-o-y: MOF

[TOKYO] Japan's exports rose 9.6 per cent in October from a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday, in an encouraging sign that global demand is picking up.

The rise compares with a 4.5 per cent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. It was faster than a 6.9 per cent year-on-year rise in September.

Exports in October rose at the fastest pace since February, the Ministry of Finance data showed.

Imports rose 2.7 per cent in the year to October, versus the median estimate of a 3.4 per cent annual increase.

The trade balance came to a deficit of 710.0 billion yen (US$6.0 billion), versus the median estimate of a 1.05 trillion yen deficit.

REUTERS