January Trade Statistics

Trade Deficit Shrinks Considerably Thanks to Major Growth in Export Volume and Decline in Import Price

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February 19, 2015

  • Masahiko Hashimoto

Summary

◆According to January 2015 trade statistics, export value grew for the fifth consecutive month at +17.0% y/y. The upward push from the weak yen was a major factor in growth, as well as the export price which grew by +5.2% y/y. In addition, export volume was up sharply by +11.2% y/y, helping to push up export value. The seasonally adjusted figure for export value grew by +1.8% m/m, its eighth consecutive month of growth, in a continuation of the growth trend. Export value exceeded market consensus considerably at +13.5% y/y thanks to major growth in export volume significantly exceeding expectations.


◆January 2015 import value declined on a y/y basis for the first time in two months at -9.0% y/y. In addition to a decline in import volume at -6.3% y/y, the import price also fell as a result of the collapse in crude oil prices by -2.9% y/y, the first decline it has experienced on a y/y basis since October 2012. This was a major factor in pushing down import value.


◆The trade balance recorded a deficit for the thirty-first consecutive month at -1,177.5 bil yen. However, this figure is less than half the amount recorded during the same month of the previous year due to major growth in exports and the collapse in the price of crude oil. In seasonally adjusted terms, the trade balance recorded -406.1 bil yen, representing the fourth month in a row of shrinking trade deficits.

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