TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports fell 6.3% in December from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance (MOF) data showed on Thursday, in a sign weak external demand is keeping a lid on the export-reliant economy.
That compared with a 4.2% decrease expected by economists in a Reuters poll and followed a 7.9% year-on-year decline in the previous month.
Imports fell 4.9% in the year to December, versus the median estimate for a 3.4% decrease. They fell 15.7% in the previous month.
As a result, the trade balance came to a deficit of 152.5 billion yen ($1.39 billion), versus the median estimate for a 150 billion yen shortfall.
($1 = 109.7100 yen)
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
