Japan’s trade deficit narrowed sharply in February from the previous month’s record shortfall, as the impact from the lunar new year in China reversed, slowing imports and encouraging exports.
The trade gap shrank to ¥897.7 billion ($6.8 billion) from ¥3.5 trillion in January, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday, coming in below analyst forecasts. Imports rose 8.3% from a year ago, decelerating from the previous month on a slowdown in energy shipments. Exports climbed 6.5% as cars pushed up gains.
The reversal of impacts from January’s lunar new year holidays meant that China was a lead cause behind the narrowing of Japan’s trade deficit last month. But a jump in exports to the rest of the world also signaled a more solid recovery for the world’s third largest economy, after it narrowly avoided a recession at the end of last year.