Japan's surplus falls, but worries persist
Japan's surplus falls, but worries persist
TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's trade surplus declined in November
for the first time in 20 months, but economists say it will stay
large and concerns about trade friction with the United States
will persist until Japan's economy fully recovers.
The Ministry of Finance said on Monday that Japan's customs-
cleared trade surplus for November fell 15.1 percent from a year
earlier to 902.1 billion yen (US$7.84 billion), while the
politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States rose
0.9 percent from a year earlier to 488.2 billion yen.
Economists said the effects of the yen's sharp rise since
early October and a slowdown of the global economy made a dent in
Japan's exports, with exports to the United States declining for
the first time in 32 months, by 7.1 percent.
Various factors caused the decline, including "Japanese
economic conditions, currency market movements, movements in
crude oil prices and in other international markets", a Finance
Ministry official told reporters.
The yen was valued at 118.36 to the dollar for November, which
was 3.4 percent stronger than the year-earlier 122.42, the
official said.
The Tokyo currency market responded little to the data as
traders fretted over the impact of the impeachment of U.S.
President Bill Clinton by the House of Representatives on
Saturday.
Makoto Ishikawa, an economist at Japan's Research Institute
Ltd. said: "Japan's export decline could be inevitable as the
economy in the United States could slow further, but vigilance
over trade friction is needed."
He said a firm trend of a falling Japanese surplus could not
be established as long as Japan's domestic demand and imports
remained feeble.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Foley said last week that with
the bilateral trade gap widening, the chances had been raised of
trade frictions resurfacing next year.
"I don't know if this (trade data) will alleviate it because I
think the U.S is looking at 1999 as the year to bring out that
weapon again of trade friction. I think they've waited until
their economy was weak and now they are falling back on that
ploy again," Michael Lockrow, an economist at Technical Data in
Tokyo told Reuters Television.
Japan's imports in November fell 11.9 percent from a year
earlier to 2.787 trillion yen, posting an 11th straight month of
declines.
Exports slumped 12.7 percent in November from a year earlier,
with pronounced drops in semiconductors and office equipment,
outpacing an 11.9 percent decline in imports, MOF said.