Japan exports rose 3.9 percent in July from the year ago period, data showed on Wednesday, compared with a Reuters forecast for a gain of 3.8 percent and after falling 2 percent in June.
Imports fell an annual 2.3 percent versus expectations for a 1.7 percent decline and following an 8.4 percent in increase in June. This widened the country's trade deficit to 964 billion yen for July compared with June's deficit of 822.2 billion yen. Expectations were for a trade gap of 702.5 billion yen.
"I think the big surprise there is with the import number," Izumi Devalier, Japan Economist at HSBC, told CNBC. "We had seen very strong imports in the previous month so we had expected it to come down a bit but it looks like imports are recovering quite quickly though consumption remains weak in Japan."
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD trades weak below 1.0800 amid Good Friday lull, ahead of US PCE
EUR/USD continues its downward trend for the fourth consecutive day, driven by a stronger US Dollar influenced by the hawkish market sentiment surrounding the Federal Reserve and expectations of prolonged higher interest rates.
GBP/USD: The first downside target is seen at the 1.2600–1.2605 zone
GBP/USD trades on a weaker note around 1.2620 during the early European session on Friday. The decline of Pound Sterling is backed by the growing speculation that the Bank of England will begin the rate-cut cycle this year.
Gold ends Q1 2024 at record highs, what’s next?
Gold is sitting at an all-time high of $2,236, lacking a trading impetus amid holiday-thinned conditions on Good Friday. Most major world markets, including the United States are closed in observance of Holy Friday, leaving volatility around Gold price highly subdued.
Ripple's move above this key level could trigger nearly 50% rally for XRP
Ripple price has overcome a critical resistance level and flipped into a support floor on the weekly time frame. This development happened while XRP tightly consolidated for roughly 250 days.
US core PCE inflation set to ease in February on month as Federal Reserve rate cut bets for June mount
The core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index is set to rise 0.3% MoM and 2.8% YoY in February. The revised Summary of Projections showed that policymakers upwardly revised end-2024 core PCE forecast to 2.6% from 2.4%.