Japan's exports saw the fastest growth since 2022 in May, buoyed by a weaker yen, according to official data released on Wednesday. Despite a decline in sales volume, exports surged 13.5% year-on-year, up from an 8.3% increase in April, the Ministry of Finance reported.
This marks the fastest expansion since late 2022 and the sixth consecutive monthly rise, surpassing economists' predictions of a 13.0% increase. The growth was driven primarily by higher shipments of automobiles and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Concurrently, import growth accelerated to 9.5% from 8.3% in April, though this fell short of the anticipated 10.4% increase.
As a result, the trade deficit stood at JPY 1.22 trillion, slightly less than the projected JPY 1.3 trillion.
Marcel Thieliant, an economist at Capital Economics, noted that the increase in trade values over the past year largely reflects rising prices due to the significant depreciation of the yen, rather than a substantial improvement in trade volumes. Thieliant added that net trade is likely to exert a minor drag on GDP growth this quarter.
