23 August 2001, 08:56  Japan MoF to continue to watch export/import outlook carefully

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - The Ministry of Finance will continue to watch the outlook for exports and imports carefully amid falling trade volumes, a ministry official said. "Export volume continued to fall for seven straight months amid a global economic slowdown. In addition, import volumes have also started to slow down. It is necessary to watch the outlooks of exports and imports very carefully," the official said. He added that trade surplus is not showing a rising trend, amid falling yen and declining export volume. In July, the trade surplus fell 57.9 pct year-on-year to 420.7 bln yen, the thirteenth consecutive monthly decline, the official said. It is the second longest decline since Dec 1994 and Dec 1996, when the trade surplus declined for 25 consecutive months, he said. The trade surplus to EU countries fell 57.3 pct to 109.2 bln yen, the largest percentage decline since Jan 1995, he said. Exports in July fell 6.5 pct to 4.03 trln yen, dragged down by falling expor ts of electric device products, which fell 25.0 pct year-on-year, he said. Imports in July rose 9.1 pct to 3.61 trln yen, the 21st consecutive monthly rise, supported by the falling Japanese yen and rising crude oil prices, he added. In July, the dollar/yen averaged 124.43 compared with 106.34 a year earlier, while crude oil imports rose 13.6 pct year-on-year.

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