Japan exports up 16.1%, growing by double digits for first time since 2018

The value of Japan's exports jumped 16.1 percent in March from a year ago, led by exports of cars, plastics, semiconductors, and chip-making equipment, marking its first double-digit gain since November 2017.

The figures beat economists' forecast of an 11.4 percent rise.

The March increase helped lift exports gains on-year to 6 percent while pushing quarterly imports were up 1.9 percent.

The figures also represent a 4.3 percent month-on-month increase after seasonal adjustment.

While the figures were boosted by comparison with data from 2020 when the coronavirus was impacting global trade, the value of exports was also the highest in three years, indicating solid improvement.

Shipments to China surged by more than a third to 37.2 percent on-year, mainly due to chip-related products and automobiles.

Meanwhile, exports to the US jumped 4.9 percent while those to the EU rose 12.8 percent, the largest increase in almost three years.

Economist Yuichi Kodama at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute noted that China’s economy has completely normalized and that the US fiscal package under the Biden administration has meant that personal consumption has been rising steadily.

Surging US retail sales and demand from China, where on-year growth jumped by a record last quarter, are expected to keep driving Japan’s exports.

Imports increased 5.7 percent on-year, surpassing a 4.7 percent increase forecast by analysts.

The trade balance was ¥663.7 billion in surplus, beating analysts' expectations of ¥493.2 billion.