/www.bloomberg.com/ By Daisuke Takato
Tokyo, Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's exports rose in October, snapping a four-month decline, as Asian customers bought more cars and computer chips.
Exports rose 8.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September, and imports rose 1.6 percent. That pushed the trade surplus to 905.4 billion yen ($7.35 billion) from 609 billion yen in September. Economists expected a 645.5 billion yen surplus, according to the median of 14 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.
Exports may falter as global growth slows, undermining a recovery from Japan's third recession in a decade. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development last week lowered its average growth forecast for 30 industrialized countries to 1.5 percent this year from 1.8 percent.
``This was just a one-month occurrence,'' said Yasukazu Shimizu, senior economist at Aozora Bank Ltd. ``Exports will decline gradually and the trade surplus will keep shrinking.''
The Japanese yen strengthened, recouping earlier losses, as rising stocks boosted demand for the currency. The yen was at 122.71 to the dollar at 1:12 p.m. Tokyo time, compared with 122.82 late Friday in New York.
Japanese stocks advanced, led by Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and other companies that rely on U.S. sales. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.8 percent to 8926.67.
Exports to Asia, which account for two-fifths of the total, rose 28 percent from a year earlier, compared with growth of 15 percent in September. Exports to the U.S. rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier in October. Shipments to the European Union rose 7.9 percent.
Asian Growth
Growing Asian economies are stoking demand for Japanese goods. In South Korea, where the government expects the economy to grow 6 percent this year, imports from Japan rose 22 percent in October from a year earlier.
Many of those exports are semiconductors and other components used in products that are sold to the U.S., where demand may slip. U.S. growth in the second half will slow to an annual rate of 2.2 percent from 3.5 percent in the first half, the OECD said in its half-yearly economic outlook.
``The trade surplus is going to be determined by the direction of the U.S. economy,'' said Tomoaki Shishido, an economist at Nomura Research Institute. ``Exports to Asia have been the main drivers of trade growth, but a good majority of those goods are being sent to the U.S.''
The Bank of Japan last week cut its assessment of the economy for the first time in 11 months, saying exports and production are stalling as global growth slows.
Japan's economy grew 0.7 percent in the third quarter, less than a revised 1 percent gain in the second. Export growth, which accounted for about half of the second quarter's expansion, slowed to 0.5 percent in the third quarter from 5.9 percent.
Losses
Japanese companies such as Furukawa Electric Co., the world's second-biggest maker of optical fiber, are already feeling the pain. Furukawa had a net loss of 101.5 billion yen in the six months ended Sept. 30 and widened its net loss forecast for the full year as customers such as AT&T Corp. and Sprint Corp. ordered less equipment. Furukawa's shares have fallen 72 percent this year.
Japan's trade surplus rose to 902 billion yen from 461.1 billion yen a year ago, the same report showed today.