Japan’s Trade Surplus May Drop Sharply
TOKYO — Japan may show a surprisingly large drop in its April trade surplus when figures are announced Friday--a few days before the United States is due to report its own trade figures for March, economists say.
A smaller Japanese surplus in April could be a sign of coming declines in the U.S. trade deficit, which has been a major factor in the dollar’s weakness.
The U.S. figures for March are due May 17.
“The April statistics could be astonishing,†a Japanese bank economist said. “We had expected the downtrend for the surplus to slow from increased exports, but the figure could drop more than $2.5 billion.â€
The average forecast by economists is a trade surplus of $4.9 billion for April, down from $7.6 billion in the same month last year.
A drop in the surplus would mark the 12th successive monthly fall in Japan’s trade balance.
Economists said the first 20-day trade figures, released on May 1, showed Japan’s trade balance dipped to a $3.23-billion surplus from $4.62 billion a year earlier.
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