March trade surplus higher than expected.

A big beat on the Japan trade surplus.

  • Trade balance surplus comes in at 787.3B vs 499.2B yen expected
  • trade balance adjusted 119.2B yen vs 104.0B yen expected
  • exports year on year rise 2.1% vs 5.2% expected
  • imports fell -0.6% vs 6.3% expected.

In other pieces:

  • exports to US up 0.2% year on year
  • exports to Asia +4.5% year on year
  • exports to China +10.8% year on year
  • exports to the EU rise 0.3%

Although the data showed a big surge, the pieces were not that great as exports and imports were lower than expectations. Nevertheless, with talks on trade with the US going on, the large surplus is something Pres. Trump might use in his negotiations.

There is little reaction in the USDJPY. The pair currently trades at 107.02. The new day high reached 107.06 and the low is at 106.97.