Japan’s Trade Balance surplus registered at 373.9 billion yen in November, narrowing from 805.4 billion in the previous month. Looking past month-to-month volatility at the annual trend in trade flows, however, the result amounts to a 601.4 billion yen expansion from the -227.5 billion deficit recorded in November 2008. Indeed, the headline trade balance figure has been inching higher since bottoming in January as imports bore the brunt of sagging labor markets while global fiscal mitigated the decline in export. This time around was no different as overseas sales slipped -6.2% while domestic purchases of foreign goods slumped -16.8% from the previous year. Although the jobless rate has declined recently, this can hardly be called an improvement considering the lower headline owed to discouraged workers exiting the labor force rather than added hiring, which would seem to suggest that current trade patterns will persist as imports remain lackluster. It remains to be seen if the 600 billion yen allocated to boosting job growth in the government’s new stimulus plan will have a meaningful impact.
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