On Thursday of this week, official data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance showed that Japan's exports in June increased for the seventh consecutive month driven by strong exports of semiconductor equipment; 2. Driven by the continuing growth of chip manufacturing equipment exports, Japan's exports to China have increased for seven consecutive months, with a year-on-year increase of 7.2% in June.
Official data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance on Thursday showed that Japan's exports increased for the seventh consecutive month in June.
In addition, driven by strong semiconductor equipment exports to China, Japan's exports to China also achieved a year-on-year increase for the seventh consecutive month.
Japan's exports have increased for seven consecutive months.
Preliminary data shows that Japan's total exports in June reached 9.2 trillion yen (approximately 58.7 billion US dollars), an increase of 5.4% compared to the same period last year. Total imports reached 8.9 trillion yen (approximately 56.8 billion US dollars), an increase of 3.2%, achieving growth for the third consecutive month.
With the depreciation of the yen, Japan's exports have become stronger while imports have weakened. This has brought Japan's trade deficit down to 3.2 trillion yen in the first half of this year, almost half of what it was in the same period last year.
In June this year, exports of chip-related products in Japan increased, with semiconductor manufacturing equipment exports exceptionally strong with a year-on-year increase of 37.9%; nonferrous metals exports increased by 22%. In addition, imports of computers and related products increased by 48.5%, and imports of electric machines increased by 37.6%.
Looking at the destination of exports, driven by the continuous growth in exports of chip manufacturing equipment, Japan's exports to China have increased for seven consecutive months, with a year-on-year increase of 7.2% in June. In addition, Japan's exports to the United States in June increased by 11% year-on-year, reaching 1.9 trillion yen; Japan's overall exports to Asia in June increased by 7.7% year-on-year, while exports to the European Union decreased by 13.4% year-on-year.
However, while Japan's export value increased in June, export volume decreased by 6.2%. This indicates that the reason for the overall increase in Japan's exports is due to price increases, not demand increases. In addition, Japan's import volume in June decreased by 8.9% year-on-year.
The preliminary data released by the Bank of Japan last week show that affected by the weakness of the yen, the price of Japanese export products in June (calculated in yen) increased by 10.4% compared to the same period last year, and the price of imports increased by 9.5%.
"Basically, the increase in import and export volume is due to the depreciation of the yen leading to an increase in import and export prices," said Taro Saito, executive researcher at NLI Research Institute.
"Basically, the increase in import and export volume is due to the depreciation of the yen leading to an increase in import and export prices," said Taro Saito, executive researcher at NLI Research Institute.
Part of the reason for Japan's weak export volume is the scandal in the Japanese automotive industry. In recent months, Japan's five major automobile manufacturers, including Toyota and Mazda, have been exposed for their fraudulent practices, affecting Japan's automobile exports. Saito predicts: "Once the economy recovers, I believe exports will recover to a certain extent."
Taro Saito also believes: "Japan's semiconductor exports have been strong because the global IT cycle is improving and Japan's domestic production and exports are growing."
Revised forecasts released this month by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics Organization show that the global semiconductor market is expected to grow by 16% this year.
Editor/ping