Japan Wood Products
Prices
Dollar Exchange Rates of
26th June 2014
Japan Yen 101.72
Reports From Japan
Exports drop on weak demand in Asia and US
Data from Japan‟s Ministry of Finance (MoF) is showing
that May exports fell marking the first drop in more than
12 months. In particular, exports to Asian countries and
the US dropped and this makes it even more likely that the
Bank of Japan (BoJ) will come with an additional stimulus
package in the near future.
Overall, May exports fell almost 3% year-on-year
according to the MoF, a sharp reverse on the 5% increase
reported for April. A growth in exports is central to the
plan of the BoJ plan to achieve its inflation goal and to
offset the impact of the consumption tax increase
introduced in April this year.
On the other hand, Japan‟s import bill eased in May,
(another first for almost 2 years) by 3.6% from 2013. The
latest, weaker than expected, import figures helped narrow
the trade deficit which has been made worse because of
energy imports.
For the MoF statistics see:
http://www.customs.go.jp/toukei/srch/indexe.htm
Employment figures moving in the right direction
The latest employment figures from Japan‟s Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications shows that the
unemployment rate edged down to 3.5% in May from
3.6% in April, a sign that the jobs market is tightening.
Unemployment figures from Japan have been trending
lower since the end of 2013 and this is expected to impact
consumer confidence figures for June.
The encouraging employment figures came in contrast to
data showing household spending fell 8% during the first
five months of the year, much worse than projected.
The decline in spending was due mainly fewer purchases
of cars and household appliances as most consumers had
completed purchases in advance of the consumption tax
increase in April. Analysts expect the economy to have
weaken in the second quarter.
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