By Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s exports fell for a fourth straight month in August, government data showed on Wednesday, as elevated U.S. tariffs took a toll on the country’s automotive and other manufacturing sectors.
Total exports by value dropped 0.1% year-on-year in August, the data showed, less than a median market forecast for a 1.9% decrease and following a 2.6% fall in July.
Exports to the United States fell 13.8% in August from a year earlier, while those to China were down 0.5%, the data showed.
Imports dropped 5.2% in August from a year earlier, compared with market forecasts for a 4.2% increase.
As a result, Japan ran a trade deficit of a deficit of 242.5 billion yen ($1.66 billion) in August, compared with the forecast of a deficit of 513.6 billion yen.
Washington agreed on a baseline 15% tariff rate on nearly all Japanese imports in late July, down from the initial 27.5% on autos and a 25% duty threatened for most of other goods, offering some relief to Japanese exporters.
But the impact remains significant, particularly for Japanese automakers and auto parts suppliers, as the levy is still multiple times higher than their previous 2.5% rate.
Japanese automakers initially absorbed the tariff costs by cutting export prices to maintain U.S. sales volumes, but thinning margins have led some of them to raise prices, albeit slowly.
Some economists predict the slumping exports will drag down Japan’s economy into contraction in the July-September quarter.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has vowed to go slow in hiking rates due to uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs on Japan’s economy.
($1 = 146.3900 yen)
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Sam Holmes and Shri Navaratnam)
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