Japan’s exports rose in June led by strong growth in car shipments, data released by the Ministry of Finance showed Thursday.
Exports rose 1.5% on year, the 28th straight month of increase, with car shipments growing 49.7%.
Economists surveyed by data provider FactSet had expected a 2.2% increase in exports.
Exports to the EU and the U.S. led the growth among regional destinations, rising 15% and 11.7%, respectively. The rise was driven by shipments of products like cars and construction and mining machinery.
However, lower shipments of products such as steel led to a decline in exports to China and Asia, which fell 11% and 8.4%, respectively.
Imports fell 12.9%, mainly due to lower demand for products such as coal, crude oil and liquefied natural gas.