Japan exports suffer largest monthly drop since 2016 due to coronavirus

TOKYO, April 20 Kyodo - Japan's exports in March sustained the largest monthly hit in more than three and a half years, as novel coronavirus weighed on overseas demand, government data showed Monday. Exports fell 11.7 percent to 6.36 trillion yen ($59 billion), the biggest slide since July 2016, in a blow to the world's third-largest economy. Imports declined 5.0 percent to 6.35 trillion yen, resulting in a goods trade surplus of 4.9 billion yen, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry. By country, exports to the United States plummeted 16.5 percent, with demand for automobiles falling as stay-at-home orders were issued in parts of the country to prevent coronavirus spreading. Exports to China fell 8.7 percent as orders for chemical ingredients and gearboxes used to assemble automobiles were down. Imports from China also fell, though the 4.5 percent drop was not nearly as steep as the 47.1 percent slump logged in February, as factories in parts of that country that were past the worst of the outbreak resumed operations, a ministry official said. For fiscal 2019, Japan's exports and imports both fell for the first time in three years as coronavirus and trade tensions between the United States and China weighed on the global economy. Exports dropped 6.0 percent to 75.88 trillion yen while imports decreased 6.3 percent to 77.17 trillion yen in the year through March 31, resulting in a goods trade deficit of 1.29 trillion yen, the second straight year of red ink. All figures were compiled on a customs-cleared basis. ==Kyodo