Japan's trade surplus unexpectedly fell in November from a year earlier, underlining concern about the impact of slower export growth on the sluggish economy as consumer spending at home remained weak.
With a rise in oil prices pushing imports to a record monthly high, the trade surplus dropped 39.2 percent from the same month a year earlier to 602.0 billion yen ($5.77 billion), data from the Ministry of Finance showed today.
The surplus was much smaller than a consensus forecast of 1.0039 trillion yen. It was, however, up 16.2 percent from October on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The figures, along with data showing service sector activity fell for the first time in three months in October, added to concern about Japan's economic recovery, which has been showing signs of stalling.
"The decline in the trade surplus confirms the impact from slower growth in overseas economies," said Mr Osamu Tanaka, an economist at Morgan Stanley. "Looking forward, we expect a further slowdown in the trade surplus, but it won't be a serious adjustment."
Exports have been the main engine of Japan's two-year-old economic recovery, but external demand became a negative contributor to growth in gross domestic product (GDP) for the first time in eight quarters in the three months to September. Still, strong demand for steel and cars pushed exports up by 13.4 percent in November from a year earlier and by 1.0 per cent from October.