Japan's export growth surged to 5%

Import growth eased to 3.1%.

According to DBS, based on the preliminary figures, export growth picked up to 5.0% YoY in the first 20 days of April and import growth slowed to 3.1%. 

For the full month, DBS expects export growth of 5.4% YoY and import growth of 7.9%. Trade deficit is projected to narrow for the second consecutive month to JPY 620bn (sa), compared to JPY 920bn in March and the peak of JPY 1.1trn in February.

Here's more from DBS:

The improvement in merchandise trade so far primarily reflected the translation effects of a weaker yen. The adjustment in export / import volumes is not obvious yet.

That said, a genuine improvement in services trade is already in sight. Services trade deficit has fallen sharply to JPY 150bn in March, halved from the peak level of JPY 310bn in Sep12.

The depreciation of the yen has boosted the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan. After all, the adjustment of personal travel decisions is relatively quick, if compared to corporate behavior of pricing and ordering.