Japan March exports rise 16.1% year/year

Imports gained 5.7% in the year to March, versus the median estimate for a 4.7% increase and following a 11.8% rise in the previous month.

TOKYO: Japan's exports jumped 16.1% in March from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance (MOF) data showed on Monday, as demand for goods recovered from low, pandemic-hit levels last year.

The reading compared with an 11.6% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. It followed a 4.5% drop in February.

Imports gained 5.7% in the year to March, versus the median estimate for a 4.7% increase and following a 11.8% rise in the previous month.

The trade balance came to a surplus of 663.7 billion yen ($6.11 billion), versus the median estimate for a 490.0 billion yen surplus.

To view full tables, go to the MOF website at: http://www.customs.go.jp/toukei/info/index_e.htm ($1 = 108.7000 yen)

- Reuters