According to preliminary trade statistics for November released by the Ministry of Finance on December 17, exports totaled 9,714.7 billion yen (up 6.1% year-on-year), marking the third consecutive month of increases, while imports totaled 9,392.4 billion yen (up 1.3%), also marking the third consecutive month of increases.
The trade surplus between exports and imports was 3223 billion yen, marking the first surplus in five months.
<Export and import figures and year-on-year comparison for July>
| Output | 輸入 | |
| Amount of money | 9 billion yen | 9 billion yen |
| Year-on-year | +6.1% | +1.3% |
<Trends in export and import values and year-on-year changes>
The items that saw an increase in exports were semiconductors and other electronic components (up 13.0%), pharmaceuticals (up 48.2%), and non-ferrous metals (up 14.8%), while the item that saw a decrease was automobiles (down 4.1%).
Imports of the following items increased: prime movers (up 50.6%), semiconductors and other electronic components (up 17.7%), and pharmaceuticals (up 10.5%). Imports of the following items decreased: liquefied natural gas (down 17.7%), coal (down 24.6%), and telecommunications equipment (down 10.3%).
