By Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports rose for a second straight month in November, data showed on Wednesday, indicating strong global demand that businesses worry could be undermined by protectionist U.S. trade policies.
The solid data, released just a day before the Bank of Japan’s policy decision, supports the central bank’s plans to gradually raise interest rates from near-zero levels.
Total (EPA:TTEF) exports rose 3.8% year-on-year in November, more than a median market forecast for a 2.8% increase and following a 3.1% rise in October.
Exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, rose 4.1% in November from a year earlier, while those to the United States were down 8%, the data showed.
Imports dropped 3.8% in November from a year earlier, compared with market forecasts for a 1% increase.
As a result, Japan ran a trade deficit of 117.6 billion yen ($766.17 million) in November, compared with the forecast of a deficit of 688.9 billion yen.
The outlook for exports is increasingly uncertain.
Nearly three-quarters of Japanese companies expect Donald Trump’s next term as U.S. president to have a negative impact on their business environment, a Reuters survey showed.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has said the bank will keep raising rates if the economy and prices move in line with projections.
However, sources have told Reuters the central bank is leaning toward keeping interest rates steady this week as policymakers prefer to spend more time scrutinising overseas risks.
($1 = 153.4900 yen)
