By Tuba Ongun
Japan's exports decreased for the first time in three months in November, according to ministry data released Wednesday.
The overseas shipments were unexpectedly down 0.2% year-on-year to 8 trillion yen ($61.2 billion) in November, while the market had forecast a 1.5% hike.
Sales of machinery plunged 10.2% and manufactured goods slipped 6.1% helped by an 11.6% decline in iron and steel products and 7.7% decrease in non-ferrous metals.
Imports dropped more than expected by 11.9% from a year ago to 9.6 trillion yen ($66.8 billion), marking the eighth consecutive month of decline.
This was mainly led by purchases of mineral fuels slipping 25.5%, namely petroleum (down 11.5%) and LNG (down 34.1%).
The trade deficit plummeted to 776.9 billion yen ($5.4 billion) in November from 2 trillion yen ($13.9 billion) last year.