June trade data show Japanese economy is slowing

Today brought another indication that the Japanese economy is slowing.

The Finance Ministry reported today that exports rose 27.7 percent in June from a year earlier. This was higher than the median estimate of a 23.5 percent increase derived from a Bloomberg survey of economists but slower than the 32.1 percent rise in May. June's exports were 1.8 percent lower than May's on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Imports rose 26.1 percent in June from a year earlier. This was slower than the 33.4 percent rise in May. June's imports were 4.4 percent lower than May's on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

The bigger fall in imports resulted in the trade balance rising to 687 billion yen in June, 41.1 percent higher than a year earlier. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the June trade surplus jumped 42.4 percent from the previous month.

Today's trade data add to other recent evidence that the Japanese economy is slowing.

Last week, the Cabinet Office published its updated composite indices to show that the leading index declined for the second consecutive month in May to 98.6 from 101.7 in April while the coincident index declined in May to 101.2 from 101.3 in April, its first decline since the economy emerged from the recession last year.