Japan recorded a trade surplus for the first time in three years.
(Baonghean) - On Wednesday, April 22nd, the Japanese Ministry of Finance announced that the country's economy showed signs of improvement in March. This is the first time since 2012 that the Japanese economy has truly achieved a positive trade balance, thanks to the sharp drop in oil prices and a strong boost in exports.
(Baonghean) - On Wednesday, April 22nd, the Japanese Ministry of Finance announced that the country's economy showed signs of improvement in March. This is the first time since 2012 that the Japanese economy has truly achieved a positive trade balance, thanks to the sharp drop in oil prices and a strong boost in exports.
In March, the sharp drop in global oil prices led to a 51% and 38% reduction in payments for oil and petroleum products, respectively. Bills for liquefied natural gas also fell by 12%. Imports decreased by 14.5% in value during this period. Meanwhile, exports increased by 8.5% to 6.927 trillion yen, driven by exports of machinery, semiconductors, and automobiles.
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| Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on April 18 in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters |
Furthermore, the export sector also benefited from the weakening yen. Revenue from overseas exports increased after converting foreign currencies to yen. The Japanese Ministry of Finance reported a trade surplus of 228 billion yen (equivalent to over $1.9 billion USD) in March. This figure was a truly unexpected result for economists, who had previously predicted a surplus of only 45 billion yen.
Achieving a trade surplus for the first time in three years is considered good news for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Central Bank Governor Haruhiko Kuroda. Over the past two years, both Abe and Kuroda have repeatedly attempted to address inflation and revive Japan's ailing economy, but without success.
Still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis, Japan's economy became extremely fragile, especially after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The double disaster at Fukushima forced the Japanese government to shut down all nuclear power reactors nationwide. This decision led to increased spending on carbon fuel to power thermal power plants. And with achieving a trade surplus for the first time since 2012, economists hoped the Japanese economy would soon emerge from recession.
Chu Thanh(According to Le Monde, April 22)
