Japan’s export growth slowed, with exports to the United States falling for the first time in nearly three years. The result underscores the mixed outlook for Japan’s economic recovery.
Exports rose 5.6% in August from a year earlier, slowing from 10.2% in the previous month, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. The result, which missed economists’ consensus estimate of 10.6%, was driven by a 9.9% drop in auto exports, while shipments of construction and mining equipment also fell.
Imports rose 2.3 percent, less than the 15 percent gain economists had forecast. The trade deficit widened to ¥695.3 billion ($4.9 billion).
