Japan’s exports fall most in 2 years as China shipments weaken

TOKYO — Japan’s exports posted their biggest decline in more than two years as China-bound shipments tumbled, fueling concerns about slowing global demand as the business mood sours and orders for the country’s machinery goods fell sharply.

Ministry of Finance data out on Wednesday showed Japan’s exports fell 8.4% year on year in January, a bigger decline than the 5.5% fall expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

It was the sharpest annual decline since October 2016, and followed a revised 3.9% year-on-year drop last December.

The data came after a key gauge of Japanese capital spending showed overseas orders for machinery fell the most in more than a decade in December, and business sentiment soured to a two-year low, as trade friction and slowing Chinese growth bite.

Japanese exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, fell 17.4% year on year.

While the Lunar New Year holiday weighed on China-bound exports, analysts say there are more concerning drivers behind January’s decline. In contrast, exports to China rose 30% yearon-year in January 2018.

“You cannot solely blame it on Chinese New Year holidays as China’s slowdown becomes more evident as a trend, which is having ripple effects on slowing Japanese shipments elsewhere such as Asia and Europe,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

Global trade has slowed as Washington and Beijing have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff battle for months, which could have ripple effects on Japan’s export-focused economy.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that trade talks with China in Washington this week were progressing well and suggested he was open to pushing back the deadline to complete negotiations, but provided few details.

Japan’s shipments to Asia, which account for more than half of overall exports, fell 13.1% in January, dragged by China-bound steel flat rolls and South Korea-bound exports of semiconductor production equipment, the trade data showed.

Japan’s exports to the European Union fell 2.5% in January year on year, down for the first time in four months.

US-bound exports rose 6.8%, led by shipments of cars, which helped push Japan’s trade surplus with the US up 5.1% to ¥367.4 billion ($3.32 billion), its first increase in seven months.

Japan’s imports from the US rose 7.7% in the year to January, led by crude oil. —