Japan's Chemical Exports Fell by 6.5% , and Overall Shipments Fell by 0.6% in November

In November, Japan's chemical exports fell 6.5% year-on-year to 938.1 billion yen, dragging down overall exports. As China's demand for Japan continues to be weak, Japan's overall exports fell for the first time in three months.

Preliminary data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance (MOF) on the 20th showed that exports of organic chemicals fell 5.7% year-on-year to 168.6 billion yen in November, while exports of plastic materials increased 2.9% to 258 billion yen. In volume terms, exports of plastic materials increased by 6.6% in November to 450,534 tons.

Japan's overall exports in November fell 0.2% year-on-year to 8.82 trillion yen, while imports fell even more, 11.9% to 9.60 trillion yen.

In November, Japan's overall exports to China, its largest trading partner, fell 2.2% year-on-year to 1.60 trillion yen, falling for 12 consecutive months, while Japan's exports to the United States increased 5.3% to 1.81 trillion yen. 

In November, Japan's automobile exports increased by 18.9% year-on-year to 1.67 trillion yen, and textile and fabric exports increased by 0.8% to 68.5 billion yen.

Weak external demand is expected to continue to weigh on Japan's manufacturing sector and its overall economic growth in the fourth quarter.

Japan, the world's third-largest economy, contracted at a revised annualized rate of 2.9% in the third quarter, sharper than an initial estimate of a 2.1% contraction due to weaker consumption.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the GDP decline was also revised to 0.7%, compared with the initial estimate of a 0.5% decline.

On December 19, the Bank of Japan voted unanimously to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged at its last meeting in 2023, keeping interest rates at -0.1%.

Regarding Japan's economic growth, the Bank of Japan noted in a statement that Japan's economy "has recovered moderately," noting that corporate profits and business confidence have improved, while corporate fixed investment has been on a "moderate growth trend."

The People's Bank of China expects that China's economy will continue to recover moderately for the time being, supported by factors such as "the continued release of pent-up demand," but it is expected that China's economy will "face downward pressure from the slowdown in the recovery pace of overseas economies."