TOKYO – Japan's exports fell more than 4% from a year earlier in November, despite an uptick in trade with China, according to customs data released Wednesday.
Exports of vehicles, semiconductors and other manufactured items showed the biggest declines. Imports fell by a larger margin of 11%, led by plunges in purchases of food, oil, coal and gas.
That left a global trade surplus of 366.77 billion yen ($3.5 billion). Both imports and exports were weaker than forecast. But he said that due to weakness in services exports, overall exports are not likely to return to pre-virus levels until the middle of next year.