Japan’s exports declined for an eighth month in July, as exports to China (Japan’s biggest trading partner) were hurt amidst the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.
According to Ministry of Finance data, total exports from Japan in July fell -1.6% year-over-year, largely due to a slump in China-bound shipments of car parts and semiconductor production equipment. Economists. had expected a -2.2% decrease.
Japan's exports to China plunged -9.3% year-on-year in July, down for a fifth month. That included substantial declines of -31.5% in semiconductor production equipment, -35% in car parts and -19% in electronics parts.
Shipments to Asia shrunk - 8.3% in the year to July.
On the other hand, Japan’s exports to the U.S. surged +8.4% in the year to July, largely driven by increases in exports of semiconductor production equipment, construction and mining machinery and airplanes. It marked the tenth straight month of Japan exports growth to the U.S.