INTERNATIONAL TRADEJapan's exports , imports surge: Good sign for Asia20/04/2017Associated Press News agencyTOKYO - Exports rose at a faster-than- expected 12% pace in March, while imports jumped nearly 16% from a year earlier, the government said on Thursday. The 7.23 trillion yen (US$66 billion) in exports and 6.61 trillion yen ($60 billion) in imports resulted in a trade surplus of 614.7 billion yen ($5.6 billion), down 17.5% from a year before. Exports to the US climbed 3.5% to 1.35 trillion yen ($12 billion), while imports jumped 16.3% to 725 billion yen ($6.7 billion), leaving a surplus of 628.1 billion yen ($5.8 billion). Concerns about possible protectionist trade policies implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump cloud the outlook for Japan's trade. Trump could take a tougher stance on trade with China and this could lead to criticism of Japan's exports also.

Source: Bangkok Post April 20, 2017 07:41 UTC