Japan Steel Export Rises by 8.6% in April

Japanese steel export increased by 8.6% to 3.057 million tonnes in April from a year earlier, announced by Ministry of Finance on Thursday. The export value increased by 4.7% to 325.156 billion yen. The export increased in volume and value due to growth for Asia and Russia. The import volume decreased by 2.7% to 801,308 tonnes due to lower volume from European Union and China while the import value increased by 8.7% to 101.84 billion yen with higher value from China and Russia.The export increased by 10% for Asian countries in April from a year earlier while the export decreased by 25.3% for USA and by 11.8% for EU. The export decreased by 11.4% to China and by 5.7% to Asian NIES. The export to Russia jumped to 3.3 times. The export value increased by 6.6% to Asia while the value decreased by 24.4% to USA and by 1% to EU. The export value increased by 6.3% to China and by 267.7% to Russia. The import volume increased by 17% from USA in April from a year earlier while the import decreased by 17.4% from EU and by 1% from Asia. The import increased by 20.4% from ASEAN and to 2 times from Russia while the import from China decreased by 20.4%. The import value increased by 4.5% from USA and by 25.7% from Asia while the value decreased by 13.4% from EU. The value decreased by 5.6% from China and by 60.7% from Middle East.