Japan’s exports climbed the most in seven months in September, supporting a rebound in the economy as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe weighs another sales-tax increase.
Overseas shipments rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, the finance ministry said in Tokyo today, compared with the median estimate for a 6.5 percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 27 economists. Imports grew 6.2 percent, leaving a trade deficit of 958.3 billion yen ($9 billion).
Stronger exports would support an economy that shrank the most in more than five years after Abe raised the sales tax in April for the first time since 1997. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has signaled support for yen declines, saying a weak currency that’s in line with the economy is a plus overall.
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